Who's That Girl, Natsume?
by Little Cute Girl
Summary: Mikan Sakura is a teenager who needs to face the lies, the betray and the love problems. Who said that teenage life was easy?
1. Chapter 1: The New Girl

**A/N -** I do not own Gakuen Alice and any songs found in this fanfiction.

**oOo  
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**Who's That Girl, Natsume?**

**oOo**

**Chapter One – The New Girl**_**  
**_

**oOo**

The clock was ticking in nonstop. I breathed in. And our teacher smiled at us. His right hand was on a new girl's shoulder.

She looked cute, very cute. Her raven hair was long and shiny. Her eyes were in purple color. Her face expression was blank.

She was wearing gothic style clothes. I had no doubt that she was a Goth.

"Hey Natsume look, another gothic chick, maybe I could have some chance with her?" Akito smiled and ignores Natsume's annoyed expression.

"Whatever," Natsume said.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot, I need to get Mikan first." Akito smirked, but Natsume just looked at his best friend, Ruka Nogi.

"Ruka, let's go somewhere else, I hate being stuck with this crowd." He stood up together with Ruka and before leaving the class, Natsume looked at our teacher

"Oi, Mister Gay, we are going to skip this classes." Natsume smirked at the teacher and the new girl while she was staring at him.

"You want something, babe?" He smirked and looked at her.

"No, it's just, never mind." She said and looked back at the ground.

'Interesting,' Natsume smirked and turned his gaze to our classroom. And our eyes locked. "Hey, Mikan, want to skip these day classes with us?"

I smiled and said "Sorry, Natsume, but I've already skipped too many classes." The new girl yelped in surprise.

"Is she okay?" Someone asked. Our teacher leaned closer to her and asked her something, she only nodded.

"Do you need to go to doctor?" Natsume asked.

"Yeah, I guess," she said and looked at Natsume.

Somehow I didn't like that girl.

And yet, her name sounded really familiar to me. Hotaru Imai, where have I heard her name?

I felt really confused.

"Shit, it looks like Natsume is flirting with my future toy," Akito just smirked and looked at me. "Aren't you jealous, Mikan?"

It was hard for me to answer his question. I couldn't say anything. My gaze was on the new girl and Natsume Hyuuga. They were standing in front of class and talking and, somehow, my heart was hurting.

_Natsume_

_Natsume_

'Natsume, why do I have this strange feeling inside my chest? It's like everything inside me is burning.' I sniffed and soon realized that tears started to fall from my eyes.

"Mikan, why are you crying?" Anna asked as she came by my side to put a hand on my back.

"I don't know, probably something fell in my left eye," I tried to smile, but it didn't look really true. Anna always knew when I was lying and again, she looked at me with the 'I-know-that-you-are-lying' face.

I blushed and laid my gaze on my red tights

**oOo**

**A/N**– Hi, I wanted to write something about NxH paring and this story will be more about NxH and NxM in middle of this story (or maybe in the end).

Please, while reading this story, don't leave reviews telling me to fix my grammar. I know that it's wrong. I KNOW. It's a pain to look at but you'll have to cope with it. If you don't feel like waisting your time reading this grammar-wrong story, be free to leave.

**~LCG**


	2. Chapter 2: My memories

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******Chapter Two –My Memories**

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_I'm sorry, Mikan-chan..._

_Please forgive me, but..._

_BUMP!_

Raven haired girl was falling to the ground.

"Hotaru, WHAT'S WRONG?" I heard shock in my teacher's voice. Everyone looked at Hotaru, but this silence ended when she started to standing up.

"Sorry, it happens with me sometimes…" And then she gives cute smile to all class, but all they know that this smile was a fake.

_Something is weird about her…She reminds me of someone, but who?_ And then suddenly small movie about my past started to show at my eyes.

"_Hota-chan! Hota-chan!" Small brunette was jumping around little girl in her age. _

"_What's wrong, baka?" Raven haired girl started to spoke._

"_Don't call me baka!"_

"_Then in what name I should call you? Maybe homo sapience?" She smiled and putted her hand on brunet's hair._

"_Call me Mi-chan!" She smiled and raven haired girl._

"_Ok then Mi-chan!" And in first time at raven haired girl's lips was seeing a smile._

And then with that girl's smile some sort of memory at my head ended.

_Why am I having this strange feeling toward Natsume and that new girl Hotaru?_ I was confused. At this time even Anna-chan will not help me.

"Okay class…" I heard my homeroom teacher start to spoke. "….today will we make another project and this time this project will be about your friendship, the title is My Feeling toward my age people!" He smiled and continues. "Today I want to see you and your partner working together, so please search yourself a partner!"

All class teenagers started to search partners. And guess what, I haven't still found a partner. I slowly walked toward my teacher who was sitting at his char.

"Umm…Mister Narumi… I don't have a partner..."

"It's okay Mikan-chan, I will find you some partner!" He smiled and walked to Hotaru and said something in her ear. As I could see she nodded and turned her gaze at me.

I just stand there, like the most stupid person in whole world and that girl with her purple eyes was watching me from my hairs till my shoes. But her eyes stopped at something really interesting or maybe I can say at someone…

"Boo!" I heard some deep voice.

"Wh- Natsume?"

"What's wrong with you, baka?" He looked at me with his blood lusted eyes._**  
**_

"Nothing…really… I was just…" And then I realized that Hotaru was gone. "It's nothing for you!"

"Hn… have you got a partner?" Suddenly my heart started to beat faster. This was the first time when someone wanted to be my partner and plus this person was none other then Natsume Hyuuga, my childhood friend and maybe the most hated person at pervert things.

"No…I haven't…h-how about you?" I looked at his crimson eye. "Nop, Ruka is together with Yuu… do you want to be my partner?"

_Of course! _My mind was screaming. "Sure!" I said it with scare. _Why am I scared, he is just my friend right?_

"Okay then…" He smirked and turned his gaze at classroom.

"What are you looking at?" I followed his gaze and my eyes were straightly on Hotaru. She was there sitting alone and writing something at her laptop.

"Don't you think that she is really famous to you?" He said it with cold and low tone.

"Umm…yeah she reminds me about..." And at that moment I couldn't say any word. I only sawed again another memory flash.

"_Mikan….I have something to tell to you!" Seven years young girl was sitting in her guest room and was calling to her best friends. _

"_What's wrong, Hota?" Her best friend's voice was heard at her telephone._

"_I have something to tell you Mikan…you see I'm moving away from Tokyo and tomorrow I have to go to airport!" Suddenly she haired her best friend sobs. Damn…don't cry_

"_But…but Hota why you didn't tell me anything?" How she could hear her best friend was now probably crying._

"_I'm sorry Mikan….I hope someday our paths will meet again!" And then she pushed at her phone red button._

_I'm sorry…please forgive me about my lies!_

_Hota? _I opened and closed my eyes two times. True, she looked like here a lot.

"She reminds me about one girl from my past…" Natsume didn't ended his sentence.

"And her name was Hota, yeah I too remember it…" I smiled and looked at Natsume. "Maybe we could work with her in this project?"

"Yeah…I will go and ask her." And so my prince walked away from me. _Why I have this strange feeling that we will be enemies?_ I turned my gaze again to my shoes. _Relax Mikan…_

I smiled and turned my gaze again to class. At my view was smiling Hotaru and Natsume. _I hope she agreed…_ And then I sawed how she looked at me, at her face was cute, little smile. She looked really friendly. _Hota, I hope you're her… _But my thought automatically vanished when she touched Natsume's arm and then said something. He turned at me his gaze and at his eyes were seeing apologize mood. _Why…what?_

And then he come to me closer and said "sorry Mikan but she doesn't want you with us…"

_Unbelievable! She isn't Hota!_

"Um...it's ok…I think!" I lay my head and then feel someone's palm at my shoulder. I looked up and found Natsume.

"Don't be mad at us, ok?" I just nodded and let him go away. _And there goes my childhood friend…Natsume I want to tell you my feelings, but I can't… _I again started to fell another tear at my eyes. This tear was cold as my life, as my cold life.

_Hota, where are you? _I feel inside myself something really hard. _This feeling…being lost and lonely this felling…_

_CLAP!_

"Hey baka, I will be your partner! Please don't make me sick with your stupid smiles and laughs...thank you!" I turned my gaze at green haired girl.

"Su-Sumire?" I heard at my voice sadness.

"Why are you crying? Don't act like emo in front of me, I hate it!" She smirked at me with her killing smirk.

"Ok….I will try…" And then I smiled.

"Well…now you look so much better!" She smiled to and dragged me somewhere. "See this… now sign in and let me be your partner!"

I signed as fast as I can. "Good, you are really fast at writing!" She smiled again.

To true I and Sumire were best friends one year, but because of Natsume she started to hate me. And this was our first chat after two week.

_It looks like my life isn't bad at all…_

**oOo**

**~LCG  
**


	3. Chapter 3: I wanna love you

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**

**Chapter Three – I Wanna Love You**

**oOo**

**Sumire's POV**

It was already passed two days and at our school was another long lesson, but this lesson was different to one person and this person was none other then our cheerful girl, Mikan Sakura. She was sitting in sport teacher cheer and staring at her class.

She founded herself dreaming about Natsume. Damn, that guy can make you smile with his face expressions when he was running.

"Hyuuga, how many times I have told you, stop flirting with girls!" Our sport teacher yelled it at him. But he just showed his tongue to teacher and walked away. Now to think about that I was having a big crush on him, but I felled to another guy.

Ok, now back to Mikan.

But in the same moment beside Mikan was sitting another girl and guess what she was, she was none other then Hotaru Imai. Her eyes were staring at one person too and that person was again Natsume.

"I feel here will happen something fishy!" Someone said with an arrogant tone.

"_I so want to be in Natsume's body, he is having two fan girls in one time!"_

_Damn, we aren't fan girls. I'm just his childhood friend and she is his partner! _Mikan thought it, but she didn't saw a ball falling from one side of sport hall.

"Mikan, look out!" I screamed it really loud. _What…did I just said it to her?_

_From what time Sumire cares about me? _Mikan looked at me, but the suddenly ball didn't hit her. It hits raven haired girl with purple eyes or how they called her, Hotaru.

_Damn…who hit that thing? _Hotaru taught it when she saw raven haired guy running to her.

He comes closer to her and then he said something to her ear. Hotaru was starting to smile. _This isn't good…_I looked at those two and then I looked at Mikan. She was like frozen in her own feats. And all I could do now is run to her and start cheer her up. To truth I already know that she was having one big love crush on Natsume, but I only know it… I couldn't tell it to anybody because it was her secret and if someone would know that I was having crush on Kok…oh my god I almost said it, ok, ok now let's turn to Mikan.

**oOo**_**  
**_

**Mikan's POV**

I feel weird seeing Natsume, am I jealous? I couldn't even answer on this kind of question. But one I know exactly… I and that bitch Imai are enemies forever!

Suddenly I heard that someone was calling me. Then I turned my head and guess what I saw…my best classmate, Sumire.

I give her cute smile, but she showed me her stop-pretending-that-everything-is-okay face.

I low my head and hugged my knees. It was painful to see your crush sweet talking with you worst enemy. I was already ready to kill her if she will say something, but for my reaction she just looked at me with her glare.

_That Hotaru…she wants to kill me too?_

I know, I know silly question, but what else can I say in this moment? At last I was having Sumire with her green hair. "Hey Perm, let's sneak out of this subject…." I whispered it.

"Are you crazy, Sakura?" Everyone in our sport hall started to gaze at me. Even Natsume looked at me with a weird look. _No, no please don't think that I'm weird…_

"Skip class, just because you want I didn't know that you are ready for something like this… of course I want it!" Everyone opened their mouths, even Hotaru and Natsume were shocked to hear something like that.

"_Oh my god…did you hear Mikan Sakura will going to skip this lesson with Sumire Shoda…is she going to be bad girl? If yes, then I will like her…" _I heard some rumors already coming to our way. _Hmm…maybe being bad will be not such a bad idea…_

"Why are you doing it?" I heard Natsume. I turned my gaze to see him, he was there looking at me with his crimson red eyes and behind him was Hotaru.

"And why can't I do it?" I asked him with annoying tone.

"…" He didn't say anything, but hey this was Natsume, Natsume Hyuuga. He didn't like to talk to anybody expect me and Ruka and…that purple eye freak (Hotaru).

I just turned my head and started to walk with Sumire to hall doors.

At doors I looked again at Hotaru and Natsume and somehow I get another picture from my past.

"_Mi-chan!" Someone screamed it_

_I turned my head and I sawed little girl, she was running._

_She smiled at me and then said "Guess what Mi-chan, I think I have crush for someone!"_

"_Crush?" Somehow I said it._

"_Of course, crush is when you like someone, but he or she doesn't know that…"Her purple eyes were shining from sun light._

"_Oh…" I couldn't say anything. __Why Mikan you can't say anything?_

"_Mi, hello?"_

_I just looked at Hota and smiled. Somehow I feel lonely and deep darkness inside of me._

"_And guess what that guy is Natsume…"_

_Natsume_

_Natsume_

_Natsume_

_Natsume… _I closed my eyes and I started to cry. _Why?_I feel like thousand or maybe million cups of my tears were happy to jump out of my eyes. This feeling was too strange to me to even know it. Was I jealous about that freak and Natsume? Or was I sad because I didn't tell her, my best friend about my feeling to Natsume. As I already said this feeling was something new to me. Something new….

"Are you okay, Mikan?" I heard Sumire's voice. I just nodded and wiped my tears. "Everything…_sob_….is…_sob_…okay!" I smiled and take my bag from our changing room.

We slowly walked away from our school sport hall.

"Are you angry?" I looked at Sumire with weird expression.

"Of course not…." I slowly mumbled it.

"You're jealous…" She smiled at me.

"You know it?" I asked her.

"Of course Mikan and this way I will help you get over this feeling!" She softly said it and looked at me. "I will change you and soon you will realize that Natsume is starting to fall for you!" She smiled and putted her green hairs away from her eyes. "And never call me Perm…okay?"

"Okay Permy!" I smiled and hugged her. Somehow she was the one who could see my pain. My sad and painful pain…. And it was all thanks to that girl…_Imai Hotaru_.

**oOo**

**Hotaru's POV**

I looked at whole sport hall. It looked like everyone was busy with their work and nobody didn't see how Mikan Sakura and Sumire Shoda were skipping this class.

"What's wrong?" I heard Natsume.

"Nothing…I only started to think about that girl Mikan….do you like her?"

"If I would say yes you would not like it…right Hota?" He gives me his handsome smile and soon I found myself blushing.

"I think she's jealous because I only hang out with you…" I wanted to finish it but Natsume cut me out.

"Remember you will hang out with me just for one week! And then you can do whatever you want!" He looked at me and said slowly.

"I don't think that is good for some people!" I said it with cold tone.

"Don't worry about her!" Natsume smiled and said with soft tone "I will make her forgot about this incident!"

Somehow I feel sad. I don't know why…but in my heart was something painful…

_I will make her forgot about this incident!_

Somehow I didn't want to see her smile with my Natsume. _Wait, did I just said with my Natsume? And I don't want to see Mi-chan smiling? What's wrong with me?_

I lowered my head and I started to cry. Natsume looked at me and hugged me at the same time. "Don't cry, okay?"

I couldn't say anything…I wanted to be with Natsume. I wanted him to be mine at eight years already.

And now look at me…I'm right here…standing and hugging him, but somehow this isn't right.

"Let me go, please!" I said it with sad voice.

He started to let me go and whispered in my ear. "I'm sorry if I make you embarrassed…"

_Of course you didn't! _I wanted to say it, but somehow I couldn't open my mouth, it was like stuck with poison. Whit bad poison to feel Natsume again, feel again his warm breath and feel again his heart and…and…

I turned my head and walked away from him. From this moment I couldn't talk with him whole lesson. Probably it was better thing that I can do right now…

**oOo**

**Mikan's POV **

_I wanna love you but I better not touch  
I wanna hold you, but my senses tell me to stop  
I wanna kiss you but I want it too much  
I wanna taste you but your lips are venomous poison  
Your poison running through my veins  
Your poison  
I don't wanna break these chains._

"Sumire, why you like this song…isn't it too weird?" I looked at Sumire and she just smiled.

"Of course not…it was the biggest hit when my…" her face started to shadow "When my father was alive."

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry Sumire, I didn't know it, I swear!" I looked at her with apologizing face.

"Its okay, Mikan…" She smiled at me and said "did you know that this song artist write it to his ex-girlfriend?"

"Um, no."

"You sure are an idiot!" She smirked at me. "Maybe this way you're having so much friends and fans!"

"Nonsense Sumire, they like me because, because…" I couldn't finish it.

"Because you're an energetic girl who like to make friends with everyone and this way everyone loves you!" She smiled at me.

"Stop it Sumire! I know that everyone don't love me!" I tried to smile too.

"You're talking about Hotaru, right?"

"Exactly, I'm talking about her!"

"You know sometimes that person who hates you might like you in the same time!" She smiled and said "can I listen to the whole song now?"

"Yes, you can!" I make one big, cute and honest smile.

The whole day we were shopping. I loved this day…why? Because I started to know something new about Sumire and she started to know something new about me. And plus Sumire make me buy that CD what she was listening…I don't remember that artist name, but I clearly remember that song name…_Poison_.

**oOo**

**~LCG**


	4. Chapter 4 :Our first meet and their kiss

**oOo**

**Chapter Four - Our First Meet and Their First Kiss**

**oOo**

It was already 5:30 p.m. I looked at Sumire and found her reading "Spice" magazine.

"Is there something interesting?" I asked her.

Silence

"Sumire?"

Again silence

"Sumire!" I accidentally said it too loud.

"Don't scream, please!" She looked at me with angry look.

"Okay, okay!" I started to search around Hesburger restaurant some familiar faces.

"What the hell are you doing?" I heard Sumire.

"Nothing just searching for someone…"

"You're such an idiot Mikan!"

"Hey…I didn't tell you to start…to start…"I couldn't find any word to complete my sentence.

"See…you're one big idiot!" She started to smirk.

"Anyways about what are you reading there?"

"About so called "love problems" just read this!" She gives me her magazine.

I slowly started to read from first page and there I found some interesting text:

_Hi dear Spice magazine, my name is Anna and I'm 16 years old…I like one guy, but I think he don't like me…I feel sad when I think about him and when I see him with different girl...it hurts… I think he knowz that I like him because he like to talk with me and usually when we talk I have weird feeling inside my chest…is that feeling called "love"? I don't know that feeling for sure, but my best friend N always cheers me up and says that soon he will likes me too…I hope that happen soon… oh and __his__ name is Koko…._

**oOo**

_Head under water_

_And they tell me_

_To breathe easy for awhile_

_The breathing gets harder_

_Even I know that_

_You made room for me_

_But its to soon to see_

_If I'm happy in your hands_

_I'm unusually hard to hold on to_

"Hello?" Sumire answered to her beeping phone.

"Oh hay!" She smiled.

"Of course not!" She was still talking with the unknown person.

"Why we skipped?" Word _we _sounded really not good for me.

"Koko stop it…yes…no!…..are you crazy...of course she's with me…okay bye now honey bony!" She was silent.

"Well?" I asked to her.

"Everyone is making such a fuss about our skip!" She smiled at me and I just smiled too.

"And why are you having Koko phone number?" I asked it smirking.

"Um…long story! Hey Mikan, can you please tell me how you meet with Natsume?" Sumire asked me looking at my eyes. "Oh, okay, I will tell you!"

**Flash back **

It was raining day even little Mikan could know that.

But still here she was, in front of big mansion. Behind mansion was huge garden with some flowers already blooming and smelling good. Around mansion were huge gates. That mansion was having three floors and from out look you could know that here were living rich people.

Little Mikan's eyes wide when she saw this huge home. It was her first time when she saw such a big and wonderful mansion.

"Mi–chan, stop dreaming there and come here!" Her mother shouted it and little girl with brown hairs started to run to her mother.

"Mommy, please wait!" She called her mother, but she didn't hear her call. "Mom, mommy, mommy, please wait!" She said it, but again her mother didn't hear her.

Her mother and father soon were gone and she was all alone there in front of big mansion.

_Where are they?_ She looked all around, but nobody was there expect her. She slowly started to cry and when I said cry then I mean cry _loud_.

"Mommy, where are you?" She yelled it and started run around her mother's car.

"Oh please, shut up!" Someone said it with deep voice.

Mikan looked up at one sakura tree and found one young guy sleeping with one manga book on his head.

"And who are you?" Asked Mikan scared.

"I have the same question to you…."

"I'm….Mikan!" She wiped her tears away from her eyes.

"You're sure one big crybaby!" He smirked at her.

"Well I'm because I lost my family here and now I'm lost!" She closed her eyes to see again herself with her family.

"Tsh" was all what he said and then she heard weird noise.

**Mikan's POV**

I heard weird noise so this way I opened my eyes and when I opened them I sawed one boy at my age, he looked kind of cute.

"So I think you're one from those visitors about what my mom was talking about…." He glanced at me. "You look poor little girl!"

I sweat dropped. He was only seven years old and already knew about rich and poor people…wow; his parents should be really rich if he could say something like that.

"So, you live here?" I asked it with scared tone.

"Yup!"

"Oh then can you please say where is my mother and father?" I looked at him and he just smiled and takes my hand and then we started to run somewhere.

"Hey, can you please run slower… I can't run so fast!" I was starting to take deep breaths.

"Tsh…you even can't run that fast, huh?" He smiled and then I saw that we were already in front of big mansion doors. He slowly pushed door knob and we were already in.

_Wow!_That was all I could think about and I think Natsume sawed my surprise. "First time being in house like this one?" I just nodded and in front of me was my mother.

"Oh my God Mikan, we were so worried about you!" My mom almost started to crying and then she looked at that boy. "Thank you really much, Natsume!"

_Natsume _I slowly smiled and looked at him. To my surprise he was too looking at me and then he turned his gaze to his mother. "Mom, who are they?"

"They are Sakura's family members! We invited them to us because they are having kid in your age!" His mother smiled at me. "You're Mikan, right?" I smiled and nodded my head.

"Well then come in!" She smiled lowly. As I could see she was loving mother.

**End of Flashback**

"Too bad that she died after three years, then Natsume was having ten years…I remember that with every year he was becoming more colder and friendship between us was erasing…till we meted again after three years because I was moved to new academy and then I was having thirteen years…" I said it quietly.

"Wow and this way I was jealous of you…Hn…I was such an idiot!" Sumire smiled at me.

**oOo**

**At Academy**

_Sob…I'm such an idiot!_Toughed Hotaru as she looked at her red eyes at girl's bathroom mirror. _How can this happen to me?_ She sobbed again and started cleaning her eyes from her tears with cold water. Suddenly her fingers started to shake and she screamed. "Why? Why me?" Tears started again dropping from her eyes to her cheeks.

"Hotaru, what's wrong?" she turned her gaze and sawed Natsume.

"Go away!" she said it to him.

"No! I will not going anywhere! Seeing my childhood friend suffering like that…what's wrong with you Hotaru?" he asked it to her. She only looked at him.

"Nothing is wrong with me, got that?" she looked at Natsume with her red eyes.

"Better look at yourself…you look like one old hag!" he smirked at her. "Mood swings?"

"You're the one who is having mood swing!" she yelled it. _He is right, what is happening with me?_

"Hotaru look…" he walked closer to her. "Are you worried about Mikan?" he asked her, but she didn't look at him. "No, I'm not worried about her!" She said it and then another tear was falling from her cheek to ground.

"Then why are you crying?" he slowly putted his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm…I'm…sorry…" she said it with sad tone. "Why are you apologizing?" He asked it to her. She slowly looked at him with her teary eyes and they looked beautiful in Natsume's eyes.

"I'm apologizing for this, I'm sorry Natsume, but I can't handle it anymore!" With that she wrapped her hands around Natsume and she moved closer to Natsume's lips. _And I'm sorry Mikan; I think I can't keep our promise _and then they lips meet and they both didn't wanted it to happen, but it was already happening and they both will not going to regret it, but they both know that someone will be suffering seeing these two together.

**oOo**

**At Hesburger Restaurant**

"Oh my god today is my unlucky day!" Mikan yelled it after reading her horoscope.

"What?" Sumire looked at her with weird look. "You know that they're lying!" Sumire smirked at her.

"But still it's my horoscope! And I trust them!" she looked at Sumire with teary eyes. "I can't believe it, why God, why me?"

"Oh shut up, you're making my ears bleeding!" Sumire yelled it to Mikan. "Okay, okay, you don't need to yell you know!"

_Dear God, please make this day be not as worst as I' m having it right now! Thank you! _She looked at Sumire and said "Sumire I want to go shopping more!" Sumire just looked at her and smiled.

"Okay Sakura! But be warned this shopping tour could make you sick!" She smirked at her.

"Don't worry, Perm!" Mikan smiled at her and then they left Hesburger restaurant to buy some new clothes again. _This was going to be my best day_, but the universe knew that she was wrong.

**oOo**

**~LCG  
**


	5. Ignore this chapter

This is not a chapter. Please, continue the reading with skipping this chapter. Thank you.

**~LCG**


	6. Chapter 5 : My life's routine

**Chapter Five – My Life's Routine**

**oOo**

**Mikan's Pov**

"Sumire, let's go!" I said to her but she ignored me. "Ehh…" I looked around the room where we were. It was a New Yorker shop. Everything here seemed so expensive. "Sumire, you know that I don't have that much money to buy all those stuff!" I said it with an annoying tone.

"Yes, yes Mikan, but you need some new clothes like new shaped bras and other things!" She smirked at me.

"I don't need any new bra!" I yelled at her.

"Okay, okay then we will not buy any new shaped bras!" She said, defeated. She looked at some pair of jeans. "This will suit you, try it on!" I looked at them, and I must admit, I really like them. They were pink in color.

"Thank you Sumire!" I smiled and tried them on. It actually matched with my pink school uniform top.

"Hmm, it looks nice on you!" I heard Sumire compliment me and I started to blush a little bit.

"Thank you!" I smiled and then she started to laugh.

"I was joking!" She said as I stuck my tongue out at her, after that we browsed some other shops and therefore we ended up shopping 'til it was already 9:20 in the evening.

**o0o**

I was walking slowly to my home when I heard some footsteps. _Mikan, nobody is stalking you, just relax!_ I tried to not think about it and walked away but those footsteps were starting to really scare me.

_Okay, now my conscience is nagging me to turn around._ I turned my head and almost jumped in my surprise. There he was. _Natsume Hyuuga._ I could read it on his uniform emblem.

"What the hell are you doing here at this time?" I asked him and he just smirked and ignored my question.

"And why did you skipped classes?" He shot back at me. God, doesn't he know the rule One question, One answer?

"It's none of your business!" I said, blushing. Damn. Why am I blushing right now? Of all the times…

"C'mon, I'm your childhood friend! When we were little we liked to tell each other our secrets." I could tell he smiled even though it was dark already.

"Damn Natsume, you reminded me those times when we took a bath together!" I said, annoyed. Yes, it was true. When we were little we always took baths together.

"Well true and I want to do it again!" After those words I started to blush.

"And you're still such a pervert Natsume!" I stuck my tongue out and soon we started to walk together because he was some kind of gentleman. "Oh thank you Natsume Hyuuga, you're really kind!" I was being all sarcastic, but he didn't take it as sarcasm.

"So what did you do with Perm all day?" He asked in husky voice.

"Hmm, we were buying new clothes and hanging out…why'd you ask?" I looked at him with amusing face.

"Nothing, I just wanted to know…"

"Oh…okay…" I looked at him. "So how was your day with Hotaru?"

"Huh?" He looked really weird. This is my first time when I saw Natsume with that expression.

"Natsume are you okay?" I looked at him and stopped walking.

"Yeah…I think." Was all he answered.

"Look I need to go now so…"

"Natsume what are you hiding from me?" I said it and take him by the hand and stared at his crimson eyes.

A dead give away. He wouldn't even look me in the eye.

"Natsume, I can see that something is wrong with you…so just answer me!"

"It's none of your business, little girl!" He said it and started to shake my palm away from his hand.

"It's my business Natsume, if Hota were to be here she would do the same thing!" I started to feel some tears running down my cheek because remembering _her_ was hard for me.

"You don't know Hota at all Mikan!" He smiled he put palm of his hand on my head.

I wiped my tears and looked at his eyes. Even though it was night and everything was dark I still could see his crimson eyes. Inside me something started to happen. I don't know that feeling is, but it's nice. I just smiled at Natsume. He didn't do anything and then I realized that something happened to him today.

"No. Hey wait. Don't tell me she did something to you!" I almost screamed at him.

"Maybe she did…" Natsume mumbled under his breath.

"Look Natsume, if she starts to make fun of you then you don't need to be embarrassed…you should just tell me!" I smiled at him and he just brushed my hair.

"You're such an idiot!" He smiled at me for the millionth time that nigh. It was the first time when I saw him smile like that. I remember the last time he smiled like that was at his fourteenth birthday. It was a great day because his father then bought him a car. A car. He was fourteen and he had a car. It was a new car made by Hyuu Company. This company belonged to his father until it went bankrupt, but, hey, a company is a company! They made a new company named HY, all thanks to the money.

"Umm, Natsume, is there something wrong?"

"No, everything is just fine." He stopped brushing my brown hair. "You should go home now!" He said, more like, ordered.

"Okay," I smiled and turned away but after some time I stopped walking and turned around and saw him with his mobile phone on his hands. He was reading something.

_'Natsume, I just want to know what's happening with you.' _I sighed to myself.

I slowly turned around and ran to the bus stop.

**At Imai's Mansion**

"Hota, do you want something to eat?" Her mother said, worrying. It was her mother's routine. She always asked her if she didn't want to eat something and her answer was always simple.

"No mom, you know that I don't like to eat vegetables at dinner!" She brushed her fingers from her wet hair and looked at the steering wheel. "I will go up, okay Mom?"

"Yes, yes darling, go now! Oh and darling don't forget to wash your hair from chlorine …you know that it's not healthy for your hair." It was already a routine. Yes, Hotaru Imai was used to her mom being like this. Somehow she started to take it as routine, her simply life routine. She did it this way because she didn't want to show anybody her stupid and annoying life. If only she could take a knife and kill herself. She was already making plans on how she could kill herself and die until her mother sent her to Alice Academy. The school where her two close childhood friends were studying as well. Maybe this way she didn't want to kill herself anymore and maybe this way she didn't have to be friends with Mikan anymore.

**o0o**

"Welcome back big sister!" A small girl, probably no older than 6 years-old called out. It was her sister. "…Where were you so long?" Hotaru slowly turned her head to see little Rukia. She gazed at her sister's long ebony-black hair and her violet orbs. They were identical. She stayed silent, ignoring her sister's question. "Can you help me with my homework?" She smiled at Hotaru, holding a notebook and pencil for props. "Sorry little sis, I need to rest, you better ask mother instead."

"Oh, okay then, sleep well!" was all she said. Hotaru slowly sat down at her bed. It was always like that. She could never be a perfect daughter to her mother, a perfect old sister to Rukia and neither could she be a perfect friend for Mikan and Natsume.

And she was hiding a huge amount information from Mikan and Natsume. She had been afflicted by a terrible sickness these past eight years. Her mother, being as loving as any mother, sent her to a special academy for people with special problems as well.

"Hotaru aren't you going to let Diedag out? You know that your little dog can't pee everywhere where he wants!" She heard her mother, but something didn't let her go away. "Do you hear me?" Hotaru placed her hand on her stomach. It had been two days since she last ate. All she ate at school were chips, chocolate and chocolate milkshake. Of course it wasn't healthy, she knew. But if Natsume wouldn't make her eat it then Hotaru Imai would now be seven feet under ground.

She glanced at her clock. It read 10:00. She could feel a subtle noise coming from her bag, she waited a few second before she hastily shuffled her stuff, looking for her cellular phone. _Damn. I want to sleep! _She thought to herself as she flipped her phone open.

_You have one new message. Read it now or later?_ The phone notified her.

She pressed the _now _button quickly, wanting to get this over with. The number of the sender was unknown.

_Hotaru Imai,_

_We want to invite you on a date with my son. He has not been in the mood lately so we thought that you could help us. However you're his best friend. I know that we could invite Mikan Sakura, but you see… we don't know her mobile phone number. We will send a message to our son and if he will agree, then you could go on date with him. More information will be sent soon_

_Mr. and Mrs. Hyuuga _

_How typical of his parents, I could accept this but…I'm only his... _Hotaru tried to smile and she dropped her mobile phone on her bed. Afterwards she walked to the bathroom and takes a shower. Only 20 minutes have passed by when she had finished_. _Yes Hotaru Imai was a brave girl. She had learnt how to kick people's asses 3 years have passed. Surely she wouldn't be scared by something called darkness.

"Mom, I will take a small walk!" She yelled it and takes her anorak.

"Bye darling, don't forgot to be home at 11:00 p.m!" Her mother smiled at her and continued what she was reading. _Three in one bed… huh my mom sure like to read pervert books! _Hotaru stopped to l0oked at her mother's book. She opened the doors and walked away into the night.

**oOo**

**At City's Park**

**Natsume's POV**

It was already 21:20 10:20. Damn, where is my father? He should have been here 10 minutes ago. But look at me. I'm here, standing under some trees and black skies. _So annoying_…only lovers would hang-out in this time.

Plus my father wants to hook me up with Hotaru Imai. _"How could I even be with her? I already said that I only want to be her friend. But still… I have this weird feeling toward her and my first kiss wasn't so bad."_ I slapped myself mentally before I tried to not think about the kiss.

After putting my hands in my pockets I saw the black limousine. _At last! _I smirked and opened the limousine door. "Hello young master!" My chauffeur smiled at me. I just nodded and I took a seat inside my car.

We slowly drove away.

_**Hotaru's POV**_

**Memory**

"_Mom, where are we going?" I asked my mom, but she just smiled at me and said "We will drive to your best friend's house to tell them that we are moving away from Japan!" Hotaru's eyes started to be wide. "Huh? What?"_

"_Didn't your father tell you?" My mom asked , oblivious. _

"_No, he didn't!" I felt that I might break down anytime now._

"_Hota-chan, you will find a lot new friends there!" My mom smiled at me and continued "why don't you send message to Natsume-kun?"_

_Suddenly I started to blush. "Mom, you know that, I'm not Natsume's best friend Mikan is! So it hardly matters. And please stop call me that, just call me Hotaru!"_

"_Someone's being moody!" My mom brushed my hair with her hand and said "Of course… Mikan will always be Natsume's best friend, but being friends with Natsume… well it would be good for you!"_

_I sighed and turned around "I will send him a message from my mobile!" _

"_Okay darling!" My mother said before starting to walk again. _

**End of the Memory**

It was always like that. My mother thought about work first. In second place was family and in third place were her friends. She never would listen to my opinion. And this is why I hate her. She was always against me. Even though she acted so sweet with me these last few years. People shouldn't hate their mothers, but I hated her and this way my life was even more of a mess than it should be.

What about my father? People always asked. The only thing he thinks about is work, work and did I mention work? He never remembered my birthday, and he never lived with us at our house. He only comes occasionally to give us money or presents. Obviously, Rukia was her favorite. He always got what she wanted.

Me? What about what _I _want? All I wanted was love. But I was cursed. There was one day, I can't remember when, but there was this old hag (she looked like one) and I didn't help her. She then cursed me, saying that my life would be hell. It already is.

Sounds something that came from a storybook, isn't it? _Cliché, cliché._

I didn't believe her and just smirked, but I was wrong. After one month my grandmother died, I loved her so much and she was the only person I trusted in my family. And after that my father became cold, he never said that he loved me like a daughter and got a divorce with my mother.

I hate it and this way I hate my life, I don't want Mikan to suffer because of my curse and I don't want to Natsume suffer as well, but he chose to be with me.

As I looked at the darkness around me I started to feel weird. I wanted to run away from my life and again I was having that feeling of wanting to kill myself.

_Hotaru, stop it!_ I yelled in my mind. I started running across the street. I felt how the wind was playing with my hair and how my heart was beating. I felt how my breath started to shake and I heard how a limousine driver was trying to stop his car from coming at me but because of my curse, the car didn't stop.

It takes two seconds to feel pain all around me and then I sawed a light and in front of me stand a girl around 9 years and she was crying, crying really hard and all I could hear was…

"_Hota-chan how could you do this to me? How could you leave me alone?"_

'_Wait, I know this girl!'_

She had long brown hair and hazel eyes.

Mikan Sakura, Only she was still young.

I wanted to hug her but I remembered why she was crying. I left her seven years before, seven long, hard years. I broke one of our promises. That was our big promise and I was the one who broke it.

And now I'm getting my own revenge. She probably hates me. Hates me that I'm with Natsume, hates me that I left her alone, hates me that I broke our promise and now she will hate me because I kissed Natsume.

_But now everything will change!_

…

"Master Nogi, what should we do now?" One man asked. Scared.

"Call ambulance!"

"Y-yes master Nogi!"

_Damn, what should I do now? Is it my fault she didn't move when a car's about to plummet her to the ground… _Blonde haired boy looked at Hotaru, she was unconscious. _I hope that she hasn't died._

Suddenly he heard some ring tone but this tone wasn't in his mobile phone. It sounded more like _girly girl_ tone. And this means that it was that girl's mobile tone. He slowly started to search for her phone. _Damn, where does a girl put her phone?_ Then he founded a really small bag. _I'm such an idiot!_ He opened her bag and took her mobile phone. The screen said _Mum. _

'_What should I do now?' _

Suddenly something hit Ruka. And it wasn't a stone.

'_H…Hotaru Imai!'_

**oOo**

**~LCG  
**


	7. Chapter 6 : Changed

**oOo**

**Chapter Six – Changed**

**oOo**

**Mikan's POV**

_Where is that "nice" bus? _I looked around the bus stop and there wasn't any sign of any bus. _Damn…_

"Mikan-chan…?" I heard someone calling me. I knew this voice very well; it belonged to one of my classmates. Her name was Anna.

"Anna-chan, is it you? What are you doing here at this time?"

She only smiled at me and said "I have the same question for you too!" And then we both started to laugh.

"Well then, I'm waiting for a bus that needed to be here twenty minutes ago!" I said it quickly.

"Um, my mom is near us and she has a car. She finishes work around 10pm so… maybe you want to drive with me and my mom to your house?" I could feel how my soul was starting to dance the happy-happy dance. "Yeah, it would be great Anna-chan!"

"Heh, so shall we go now?"

"Yeah…!" I smiled at her and we walked through the darkness.

'_It will be okay now! I will be at home around 11 PM and I will finally finish my homework! And then my life will be the same as ever!' _I smiled at my thought, yes, I was right! What could go wrong tomorrow?

But maybe I was really wrong…..

**oOo**

**Hotaru's POV**

"Hotaru…." I heard someone calling me; this voice was sweet and caring. It must belong to some nice person.

"Imai…" I heard how the voice called my last name.

"How long… yes… I understand…. yes…. thank you!" I heard again that sweet voice. Somehow it was really familiar to me but at the same time, this wasn't Natsume's voice.

'_Who's the owner of this voice?'_ I tried to open my eyes but something was holding me.

"Mister Nogi, that girl is shivering!" I heard another voice. This was deeper and unknown.

"At least she isn't dead!" I heard another voice and then two voices started to laugh.

"Don't laugh about it! If she was be dead, I would be in deep hell!" This time I wanted to laugh. Nobody cares about me but him, wait, how the hell I know that this person is a male, maybe this person is a female.

"Mister Nogi…" Alas, he's a male.

**oOo**

**Third Person's POV**

"Daddy, you're so mean! Daniel almost asked me to be his girlfriend!" A sixteen year old girl yelled.

"Teddy bear, you know that your father hates when you yell!" A forty-three years old man said.

"But daddy…!" The sixteen year old girl looked at her father.

"We are already at Tokyo and there is no way back!" He saw how his daughter's eyes became sad.

"You're mean, I hate you, hate you, hate you!" She yelled, crying. "And I'm not going to that academy!"

"You're going too far miss…" Her father shouted.

"I'm not! I'm just saying what's true, daddy!" She gave him her famous smile.

"Why don't you want to go there? All your childhood friends are going to that school!" Her father looked at her innocent eyes.

"Friends, hah, they forgot about me six years ago! And plus Natsume-kun isn't answering my messages on Yahoo Messenger!" She said with cute voice.

"Well, now he's going to answer immediately!" Her nice daddy smiled.

"You have a point there, daddy!" She smiled and kissed his cheek. "Okay, tomorrow I'm going to that academy!" _'Natsume-kun is going to be mine!'_ She smirked at her thought.

"Oh, daddy, I want a new mobile phone! They would think that I'm a nerd if they found out that my mobile is already five days old!" She smiled at her father.

"Of course, darling, I will do anything you want!" She put another fake smile on her face.

"You're the best daddy in whole universe!"

"And now go and pack your things!" Her dad smiled and left her room.

She smiled again and turned around to pack her new Gucci bag. _'Natsume-kun, do you hear me? I will be together with you again and now nothing will stop us!'_ She smirked as she put her iPod and some other things into her bag.

After she finished packing her Gucci bag, she opened her new radio and put in her favourite CD.

_Damaged, damaged,  
Damaged, damaged,  
I thought that I should let you know,  
That my heart is,  
Damaged, damaged,  
So damaged (so damaged),  
And you can't blame the one before,  
So how you gonna fix it, fix it, fix it?_

'_Now Natsume will be mine…!'_ She smirked and started to laugh manically.

**oOo**

"_We're now official enemies from this day on, Sakura!" Smirked a long haired, blonde girl._

"_Why are we?" Asked a brown haired girl. Her hair was in pigtails._

"_Because you're Natsume's best friend and I'm only his friend! I want to be more than a friend to him!" The blond haired girl smirked again and touched the brown haired girl's face. "You're ugly, did you know that?"_

"_No, I'm not!" The brown haired girl said it in quiet voice._

"_Even Hota was more beautiful than you!" She laughed. "Poor girl, I don't envy you!"_

"_Stop talking about Hota-chan!"The brown haired girl almost yelled._

"_Oh yeah, Mikan-chan, you hate her, right?"_

"_No, I would never hate Hota-chan!" Mikan almost started to cry._

"_You know, you're such a cry-baby!" She smiled and punched Mikan's arm._

"_Oww, why did you do that?"_

"_Because you deserved it…!" She laughed at her and punched her arm again._

"_Stop it!" _

"_Natsume hates you! He will always hate you!"_

"_NO…!"_

"No!" Mikan said in deep voice.

"Mikan, it's time to wake up!" She opened her eyes and saw Anna's mother.

"Oh, sorry, I… I'm really tired and I had a really busy day today and…" Mikan couldn't finish her sentence.

"We're at your house!" She smiled at Mikan. Anna's mother is a really nice person. You could talk with her about anything. Maybe, because of this, Anna is a really happy child.

"Ugh, thank you!" Mikan smiled and opened the car door.

"Have a nice sleep, Mikan!" Anna's mother smiled again. And then she turned in her car and drove away.

Mikan slowly turned around to see her house. It wasn't as big as Natsume's house. Sometimes Mikan envied him, but at the same time, she knew that she would never hate him.

He was her childhood friend. How could she hate him?

When she was fourteen, she had a really big crush on him. So she tried to ignore him and forgot but deep inside her heart, she loved him.

**oOo**

"Natsume, do you want something to eat?" Herate Hyuuga asked in her honey-sweet voice.

"Thanks, but no!" Natsume whispered.

"Natsume, why are you so moody?" She asked cheerfully.

"Shut up, squirrel!" Natsume smirked.

"Stop it, Natsume Hyuuga!" Mr. Hyuuga said as he smiled at his wife.

"Okay, but please, do your lovey-dovey stuff somewhere else!" Natsume said as he looked at his step mother. Herate Hyuuga had been his mother for three years. It was hard at first but Natsume started to be nicer toward Herate.

"Oh, Natsume, please call Hotaru Imai. She needs to be here tomorrow because we need to decide who will be your fiancée!" Mr. Hyuuga smiled at Natsume and kissed Mrs. Hyuuga.

"Umm, I will go now!" Aoi Hyuuga said quietly and looked at Natsume. "Will you come with me?" She said again, cheerfully.

"Okay…" Natsume smiled at his little sister.

"I will call Rukia and she will tell her sister about that party, okay?"

"Okay…"

"Natsume, what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing, squirrel." Okay, now Aoi Hyuuga was angry. Her brother was ignoring her. How could he? How could he ignore his little sister? He doesn't have a heart for sure. _"Natsume, you're one big jerk!"_ But Aoi could never say this to her brother. _Never…_

"…" Aoi turned around and faced their TV. "I'm going to watch TV, if you need anything from me then ask!"

"…"

'_You're a jerk!' _Aoi walked away from her brother.

Natsume watched as his little sister walked away. He was acting cold to her. He knew it, he always acted cold toward his little sister. Deep in his heart he loved her. She was his everything. No one could make him hate her. Aoi was the only girl who told him to change. She was five years old when she confessed her feelings to him. She told him that she loved him, loved as sister should love her brother, her big brother.

And from that time Natsume tried to change.

He slowly started to talk with his family and Mikan.

He missed his mother really much but soon his father found a new woman. Herate Miko. And his father fell in love with her. That was hard but he tried his best to be friendly toward Herate.

Natsume smirked at his thought. _'Maybe I should call Hotaru?'_

**oOo**

**~LCG  
**


	8. Chapter 7 : Stuck

**oOo**

**Chapter Seven**

**oOo**

In our world someone is happy at this minute, someone is sad. This someone was Sumire Shoda. Her green hairs were shining at moon's light.

This day for her was great at day but it turned out worst at the night.

Her green orbs were watching moon, her eyes were red because earlier she was crying.

She was sitting on her sofa, clutched her fists into the sofa.

'No one cares about me! Even Koko has forgotten about me!' She thought and closed her eyes. In her mind she pictured Mikan and Natsume being together. Why did she saw those two at her mind?

She wasn't jealous of Mikan. No, she never could. After Natsume rejected her at eighth grade she got her lesson that in life you can never get what you want.

She remembered how she asked him to dance with her. Natsume rejected her. She asked why he did that. He only looked at her with his piercing crimson eyes and pointed his index finger to a girl. She was coming with two cups of paunches.

Sumire got it. Mikan Sakura was his date for the night. This way she asked Koko to dance with her. She spent her whole night dancing with him.

She smiled and slowly looked at her mobile phone. 'Maybe someone has written me a message?' She takes her mobile phone and looked at its display.

_No message_

Sumire sighed and dropped her mobile at her sofa and walked closer to her bed. All she wanted right now was nice and lovely sleep.

**oOo**

Mikan heard some birds outside. When she was younger, she loved to hear their songs but now time changed her and she hated those songs. 'Let's murder those birds!' She smiled.

'Yup, let's murder those stupid birds!'

Mikan opened her eyes to meet usual Tokyo's Sun. 'Get up, Miss Sunshine!' She slowly pushed away her bed sheets to sit up. She started to gaze at her room. Her room's walls were at yellow color. There was one window with yellow curtains and a carpet, of course, yellow.

'When is my mom going to learn that I hate yellow color?_' _Mikan yawned and slowly started to gaze around her room, if only she could slept for more then twenty minutes...

"Mikan, breakfasts are ready!" Her mother shouted from their kitchen. It was lovely kitchen for small family. And guess what, kitchen's walls too were in yellow color. 'Yellow House' that was Mikan's nick name to her house, her truly home.

"I'm coming mom!" She said in sleepy voice. 'One step till my wardrobe, two steps till my wardrobe.' She opened her wardrobe doors and picked out pink skirt and orange shirt. 'So, now let's change into cheerful Mikan Sakura!' She thought and walked to her bathroom. She took hot shower and brushed her teeth. 'Perfect,' she smiled to herself and walked away from bathroom, 'teeth almost as whites as Cinderella.'

As she closed her bedrooms doors, she smelled delicious smell. 'Yummy, I will have pancakes at breakfasts.' Mikan started to run down their house's stairs, as soon as she reached kitchen, she saw her mother and father.

"Mikan, it's so nice to see you! We have really good news for you! Your best friend, Luna, is coming back from US! Isn't it great?" Mikan could feel how she starts to lose her breath. 'Luna is coming back?'

"And today you're going to meet her again." Yuka smiled and tickled her daughter cheeks.

"But, mother, today is Friday; I'm going to shop with Sumire and other girls," Mikan looked at her mother with painful eyes, "I want to spend my time with them today."

"Natsume Hyuuga is going to be there." Yuka grinned at Mikan.

'_Damn,' _Mikan looked at her mother with hate. Didn't she know that her own daughter hates Luna? Didn't she know that Natsume is her best friend, childhood friend?

Mikan only smiled. "Okay, mother." Hers mother's hazel eyes started to sparkle and her lips curved into a smile. "Thank you, dear. I promise that we're going to buy you new clothes!"

'_She has told me it already ten times!' _Mikan thought and tried to smile.

Yuka Sakura was that kind of women who liked to be in the spot light. This way she stated her friendship with Hyuuga family, they were the first richest family at Tokyo.

Soon Yuka's husband started to work together with Natsume's father, they opened new firm and that firm got famous only by one week.

Soon Mr. Hyuuga opened more firms and he stopped working with Mikan's father.

Mr. Hyuuga reached Top 5 richest people, when Mikan's father was only at the Top 40 richest people from Tokyo.

And soon, they almost lose their contacts with families.

Mikan walked towards kitchen's family desk. They usually ate there their breakfasts and dinner.

"What's for breakfasts?" Mikan asked her father. He just pointed to the plate where three pancakes were placed.

"Pancakes with cherry jam or apple jam, you can choose." Yuka smiled and sit in the chair, which was beside Mikan's chair.

"Okay, I will have pancakes with apple jam."

"Your father chose the same jam too."

"And I will have fruit tea."

"Your father is having the same tea too."

"Mom, will you stop it?"

"Okay, okay, it just seems that you aren't my children, weird, right?"

This time Mikan ignore her.

"Mikan, darling, don't be so mean, your mother just wants to know you better, even thought that she knows your favorite tea, favorite jam, favorite TV show, favorite radio station, favorite dolls, favorite books, your best friends, your favorite magazines and your taste in clothes. And that you totally adore _Dolce and Gabanna _clothes." Yuka gave Mikan an innocence look.

Mikan take one pancake and put it on her plate.

"Darling, eat more, you're going to have bulimia or anorexia if you're going to continue eat this much." Her mother pointed her hands at Mikan's plate.

"Mom, better make a tea."

"Oh my god, I totally forgot it, sorry dear." Her mother jumped up from her chair and walked to the tea machine. My mother was a coffee freak, this way we had _coffee and tea machine_.

After three minutes there was loud _click _and Mikan's mother started to search for some clean cup.

At that time, Mikan was chopping her pancake with apple jam. Not forgetting to take a peek at the kitchen's clock after every minute.

"Don't worry, dear, you still have half an hour left." This was the first sentence who her father said today.

"Half an hour? I still need to drink my precious coffee." Yuka said and started to move around two times faster.

Soon Mikan found her cup of tea in front of her and her mother was sitting beside her, drinking another cup of coffee.

"Thank you, cupcake, the pancakes were fantastic." Mikan's father stood up and washed his plate and coffee cup.

"Darling, you're already going to work? Isn't it little to early?"

"No, I need to finish writing some stupid papers and signing some contracts at work."

"Okay, bye bunny." She went closer to her husband and gave a peck on his cheek.

Mikan only smiled seeing her mother kissing her father. She was happy to know that her father and mother still could be hopeless romantics even thought they were reached forty years.

Her father just waved his hand toward Mikan and together with his wife walked to corridor, stopping at sitting room to take father's bag.

Mikan drank her fruit tea and started to eat second pancake. Mikan still had left twenty minutes till school. Of course, Yuka is going to drive her to school.

Right now Mikan remembered how sweet Anna's mother was. She will need to say thanks to Anna.

When Mikan's mother came back from corridor, Mikan was already took her back pack from her room and was ready to drive with her mother to school.

"Wow, you have really fast temp at the last minutes till school."

"Well, at last we have one thing the same; we start to be hyperactive when we have only fourteen minutes left till school."

Mikan's mother only smiled and took her bag, house keys and car keys.

Soon, they were out the house and in the white _Audi __A6 Sedan_.

**oOo**

**~LCG  
**


	9. Chapter 8 : Nothing changed

**oOo**

**Chapter Eight – Nothing Changed**

**oOo**

Mikan slowly fixed her black backpack and was ready to slump out her mother's car. Well, she wanted to do it.

"Darling, how about _'bye bye'_ kiss?"

"Mom, you know that I'm sixteen years old."

"But darling," she leaned closer to Mikan and gave a kiss on her cheek, "now, it's done, I wish you luck at your English test."

'Oh fuck, I forgot about it.'

'Yeah," Mikan tried to be calmly but inside her everything was screaming. 'How could I forget this?'

"Oh, greet Nat from me."

"Yes, mom, I will greet Natsume from you, anything else?"

"No darling," she smiled and Mikan closed car's doors. Soon, it drove away and she was left there, in front of her school.

'Here comes another _looong_ day.' She sighed and took her English notes from her bag. Hey, at last she wanted to get a C at the test.

**oOo**

"Honey, honey," Hotaru heard her mother calling. Slowly, opening her eyes, she saw white ceiling, moving her eyes away from it, she saw white walls.

Oh great, she was still in hospital.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" She mumbled feeling really tired; just now she started to feel that her back was hurting.

'Great, how am I going to walk?'

"Aren't you happy to see me?" Her mother asked, looking really worried.

"I would feel a lot better if dad and my sister would be here too."

"But darling, you father had to work and your sister is having a school and…" Hotaru didn't want to hear the entire stupid and fake story. She knew that her mother was lying. Mr. Imai never worked that hard. He loved to drink and be at the pub.

And it was all thanks to the money and popularity.

"Mom, I get you, you can stop telling me it."

Her mother only nodded and impulsive hugged her daughter, making some pain coming from Hotaru's back.

"Mom, that hurts."

"Sorry darling, I'm just too happy to see you here, all fine and alive, of course, why did you do it? Am I such a bad mother?"

Hotaru only sighed, "No mom, you're the best; I don't remember what happened with me before the accident."

"Oh, my little, poor daughter," her mother hugged her harder, making Hotaru wink in pain.

"Sorry," her mother apologized.

**oOo**

The class was quiet, well; of course it was because it was middle of English lesson and Mikan Sakura couldn't guess one exercise right.

'Damn, I knew this thing so well. Brains, work!'

Suddenly, she stole a glance at the free spot in our class. Only one person from our class was missing at this person was Hotaru Imai.

Mikan had heard gossips that she got into car accident.

Mikan was feeling really down because she hasn't acted really nice toward Hotaru at the last time she saw her.

'Ugh, shut up, English is much more important then Hotaru Imai.'

And so she did, starting concentrate on her test, not thinking about Hotaru Imai.

**oOo**

Finally, English was over. Mikan Sakura could breathe free again.

'I will never forget about any other test." She repeated in her head. Not caring if someone would think that talking with herself would be stupid.

But in the same time, she saw Natsume walking by the same hallway. Talking about Natsume, she hadn't talked with him for awhile now. Well, expect last night.

Would it be bad if she would talk with him for awhile? Probably not, she still needed to give her mother's greetings.

Walking closer to him, she stopped one meter away from him.

"Hi Natsume," she tried to say it calm but, of course, she failed at that task.

"Hi," he looked up from his book to see her.

"Um, what's up?" She knew that her question was lame but nothing come in her head.

"Nothing much, how about you, will you come to party tonight?"

"Probably," she smiled and looked at Natsume's book, "what are you reading?"

"Some shit, my father told me to read it because it will gave something to my career."

"And, is it giving something?"

"Only a handshake," he smirked and Mikan smiled. Yep, nothing was wrong with them, right?

The bell ringed

Right, everything was just fine.

"Oh, I almost forgot, my mother said to greet you from her."

"Say that I said thanks to her." Natsume closed his book and walked away from Mikan to give a handshake to Ruka.

She smiled at the scene, not knowing that Sumire walked closer to her from her back.

"About what are we thinking?" She asked, sawing how Mikan turned around to face her.

"Hoping that I didn't fall my English test." Mikan smiled at her and they both walked in class, chatting.

**oOo**

**~LCG**


	10. Chapter 9: The fight

oOo

**Chapter Nine - The Fight  
**

oOo

Mikan scanned the lunch room, searching for one important person. Her eyes caught youngest Hyuuga's family's member.

Aoi was talking with her friend. Mikan smiled and looked at her cereal bowl.

"Mikan, what's wrong?" Sumire asked, didn't getting why her friend previously was looking at Aoi, "Do you need something from her?"

"Well, technically, no," Mikan said, she haven't talked with Aoi more then months and, somehow, after hard English test, she remembered that Natsume was having a younger sister and, in the past, Aoi and Mikan were really good friends because Mikan was the only one who tried to act like Aoi's mother.

"Then why were you looking at her?" Sumire moved her gaze away from her macaronis with cheese to look at Mikan's face.

"I realized that I haven't talked with her for few months."

"Oh my God," Sumire said with sarcasm in her voice and then laughed, "you will talk with her tonight."

"I don't know if I will go to that party."

"Why?" Sumire asked, drinking her apple juice and then, continuing chopping her macaroons.

"Because Luna is coming back," Sumire started to cough and looked at Mikan, "You're joking, right?"

"No, I am not, my own mother told me," Mikan wanted to continue but Sumire cut her.

"Fuck, I don't want to see that _biatch _again."

"Well, then we are in the same boat," Mikan smiled at her and drank her orange juice.

oOo

**L-**_ I think this place will kill me, I want back home._

**C-**_Feel sorry for you, darling._

**L**_- I knowww, my father is such an ass, I hate him._

**C-**_ Luna, if my father would send me from USA to Japan, I would feel the same way._

**L- **_But there is the thing, I love Japan but my heart belongs to USA. _

**C- **_You're just homesick, that's all._

**L- **_Emm, hello-o, this is only the first day here and I'm already homesick?_

**C- **_Yeah, that's logical. You miss your city, your province, your country, your state…_

**L- **_Whatever, you're not interesting to talk with._

**C- **_Ok, ok, but don't whine after this._

**C **_is logged off._

'Damn,' Luna Koizumi thought as she closed her laptop. Clarence Belinger has totally ignored her whining. Would a real best friend do it?

_Don't think so._

Luna closed her eyes to think about her crappy life. Yeah, being a millionaire's daughter was a hard life.

'Today we're going to have a party,' she thought and fell into bed, above cotton's blanket, 'I'm going to see Mikan.'

She sighed. Memories about her past never were the sweetest. Why, oh, why she needed to be so mean to Mikan? All she wanted was to be her friend, be her best friend. But no, that place was already taken by the _smartass_ Hotaru.

Luna opened her eyes to save her poker face. Another three minutes would make her cry.

'Why can't I forget those stupid memories?" She thought, taking her mobile phone from bedside table to check the time.

_12:05 P.M_

She made a long pant, 'Normal teenagers would be at school right now.'

Too bad that she wasn't normal, being rich was the one thing that Luna Koizumi hated and, in the same time, loved the most.

oOo

_Tick Tack Tick Tack_

"Das is lustig, aber…" Mrs. Kenen was ready to continue but loud 'rriiinnnggg' disturbed her.

"Oops, the lesson is already over?" She said with a German accent.

"Yes, ma'am," the whole class said it in unison.

"So, you're having none homework," a loud 'yes!' disturbed Mrs. Kenen, "but please, repeat 'Passiv' form."

"So, are we ready for the _PA-ART-TY_?" Anna asked, putting her notebook in her bag.

"Anna, how many times I will have to tell you? Yes, I'm ready." Mikan smiled, zipping her black pack with white lines.

"Too bad that no one invited me," Anna pouted, taking from her bag mini-mirror to check her make-up. Beauty was always at the first place for Anna.

"I could invite only one person, sorry Anna." Mikan smiled and swung her bag up her left shoulder.

"That's okay, Mikan, I'm not mad at you. We are best friends, sweetheart, how could I be mad at you? Sometimes you can be really silly." She smiled and swung her bag up her right shoulder. "Shall we go?"

"Kay." Mikan smiled, as they made their 'grand finale' living an empty classroom, well, ignoring Mrs. Kenen.

As both of them were outside, Sumire Shoda, out of her breath, came running toward them.

"You wouldn't believe what just happened outside the school!" She yelled, ignoring the fact that her friends were almost five meters away from her.

"What's the hot news, Sum?" Anna asked, sounding interested.

"Some guys- pant- our age- pant- fighting- pant- hard- pant- they are- pant- handsome."

"You _wanna_say that some guys are fighting outside?" Mikan choose to ignore some 'really important' parts.

"Yeah," Sumire said, adding, "One of them was bleeding. Probably his companion broke his nose, or just hit it too hard."

"So, why are we here just standing? I want to see the action." Anna giggled. Well, here goes the minus. Anna wasn't that kind of girl who would cry about other peoples, all she cared about was her family, friends and, maybe, classmates.

All three of them started to run, trying to avoid crashing into other people. They turned to the left to the staircase, ran down it and turn to the right and saw outside doors where were standing a lot of people.

"Faster, girls, we won't see any good scene, and I can't miss something hot as a fight." Sumire smirked, started to elbow every opponent that got in her way to see the show.

"She can be weird." Anna whispered to Mikan, fallowing Sumire.

"And this way she's our Permy." Mikan laughed, fallowing Sumire and Anna.

Soon, they walked out the school, forgetting to get their coats. Well, who cared, you wouldn't see a fight everyday.

First what Mikan saw was a two guys, one of them was having black hair when other was having honey blond.

'Isn't it Koko?' Mikan thought, trying to look closer at the honey blond haired guy.

"Isn't that guy Koko?" Anna asked, suddenly not speaking so giggly.

"I'm afraid, that it could be him." Hissed Sumire, seeing how her boyfriend was trying to stop the blood that was coming from his nose.

"Sumire, calm down, I'm sure that the black haired guy started the fight." Mikan said, trying to protect Koko.

"Stop protecting him, he started the fight." All three girl's heads turned to the left to see their beloved classmates.

"_Damn,_" Sumire hissed and looked at Mikan, asking for an approval, Mikan only nodded and Sumire ran closer to Koko.

"I hope that she knows what to do." Anna said, looking at the scene that was happening in front of her. Sumire was saying something to Koko, looking really angry.

"They can't break up, right?" Suddenly Nonoko asked, not liking the scene in front of her.

"Of course they can't, I hope that they can't." Mikan said, not sounding cheerful.

"They can choose what to do, that's their private life." Husky voices come behind Mikan and her friends. Mikan turned her head to see Natsume standing behind her.

"_So what if he asked her to be his girlfriend? That's not your business!"_ Come Sumire's voice.

Now, everyone was watching in awe how two lovers were arguing. They shouted, yelled and, finally, cried. Technically, only Sumire cried till she ran away from Koko to her friends.

Her face was red from embarrassment, "Girls, we should go now." She said in really weak voice.

"Sumire, what's wrong?" Anna asked ignoring the fact that Sumire didn't wanted to talk about it.

"Nothing special," she turned toward Mikan and clutching her hand, walked inside the school's building.

"She ignored us!" Anna shouted, not caring what other people would think.

"Young lady, please, don't shout." School's doctor said, trying to get closer to Koko and the black haired guy.

"Sorry," Anna giggled, let the school's doctor to get past her, and walked into school's building with Nonoko.

oOo

**~LCG**


	11. Chapter 10 : Fly On The Wall

**oOo**

**Chapter Ten – Fly On the Wall**

**oOo**

"So, which dress you prefer?" Sumire asked, holding a green dress in her left hand and a red dress in her left hand.

"The green one, it will suit your eyes and your hair." Mikan said, taking another spoon from her strawberry ice cream bowl.

"Okay, then you can have my pink dress." She smiled at Mikan and took from closet her pink dress and threw it at the bed.

"Thank you, sweetheart!" Mikan put her ice cream bowl at the bedside table that was put to the left from Sumire's bed. She took the pink dress and threw a fashion look at it.

"_Magnifique_," Mikan said in French accent, making Sumire giggle.

"What? _Moi_ dress is cut_i_." Mikan said, trying to sound more French.

"Please," Sumire said from giggling, "stop, your French is horrible."

"No, I will not. I'm going to annoy you till the bits, and then, you will give me this _magnifique _dress just to shut me up." Mikan smirked, making Sumire laugh.

"_Ma chère_, don't laugh, the people under the ground will wake up," To put a strawberry at the top of the ice cream, Mikan whispered, putting her finger above her lips.

"Hey, at last I can laugh cuter then you." Sumire laughed and walked into the bathroom, before closing the doors she yelled, "Don't peek!"

"No stress, I'm not a lesbian." Mikan laughed, waving her hands in anime style.

"Don't use the anime style, it don't suit you." Sumire smiled the bitchy smile and closed her bathroom's doors.

"How mean."

**oOo**

_Can I have your mobile phone number?_

I looked at my laptop that my mother bought for my fourteenth birthday. It was black, with 'ASUS' sign in the front cover.

I sighed, was I really into that Nogi guy? God, he almost killed me. Well, I wanted to do a suicide but my destiny had different plans.

I looked again at the message. Why not give him my number? He's my best friend's best friend.

So, I replied.

_Mhm, sure, my number is …, am, are you going to the party today?_

And soon, Hotaru Imai was sucked in the Internet world, replying to Ruka's e-mails.

**oOo**

"Oh my, you look really-" Sumire stopped, her eyes were sparkling with admire, right in front of he was standing Bella from 'The Beauty And The Beast' just in pink dress, not yellow.

"What? I look ugly?" Mikan asked looking at the mirror. "I think this isn't my dress."

"Gosh, no, it's so suits you, and no, you don't look bad, you look cute in it."

"I do?" Mikan looked at Sumire, puzzled.

"Yeah, you do, now we need to search perfect shoes for your pink dress." Mikan laughed as Sumire smiled at her.

"Uhh… thanks, I guess. Gosh, you made me blush." Mikan softly giggled and turned her gaze back at the mirror.

"Yeah, yeah, now try these shoes. I think they will be perfect for your pink dress."

"Thanks, Permy," Mikan smiled and took the white shoes from her. The shoes weren't nor bigger nor smaller for her foot. They were perfect for her feet.

"How did you know what size is the best for my foot?"

"I'm an expert at these situations, and, _lookie_, my foot is a bit bigger than yours, but not that much." Sumire said, walking closer Mikan and putting her foot beside mine. "See, they are almost in the same size."

"Hehe, you're right." Mikan smiled and her attention caught Sumire's foot nails, they were manicured, not like Mikan's.

Deeper in her heart, Mikan sighed and couldn't move the thought away from her. All about Sumire was more 'womanly' then about Mikan.

She couldn't hold the question that was in the top of her tongue so she let it go.

"Where did you manicure your foot's nails?"

Sumire only smiled and said, "I do it myself, I can teach you how to manicure them."

"I would love to, thanks Sumire."

"Your welcome, dummy," she smirked at Mikan, walking away from her to take her scissors.

"Hey, that was mean." Mikan pouted, making Sumire laugh.

"Okay, shut up and let's begin to work on your nails."

"Okay, okay, but be gentle, and if you're not going to be gentle, I'm going to scream." Mikan said, as she sat down at Sumire's pink cushion and moved her legs up to Sumire's bed, where Sumire was sitting.

"Do it faster, okay?" Mikan asked.

"Okay, okay." Sumire smiled and started to work at Mikan foot's finger nails.

**oOo**

Play at YouTube song "Fly on The Wall' by T.A.T.U

_When you naked, in the shower,_

_When you're sleeping,_

_For an hour,_

_When you're big,_

_When you're small,_

_Oh, I wish I was a fly on the wall._

_When you're with her,_

_After midnight,_

_When you kiss her,_

_in the dim light._

_When you break, Barbie doll,_

_Oh I wish I was a fly on the wall._

_Wanna see, who you are._

_Every inch,_

_Every scar._

_From your head to your toes,_

_I would be there._

_From your bed to your clothes,_

_I'm in the air._

_When you think you're alone,_

_I'll be down the hall._

_I can see it,_

_If I was a fly on the wall._

_What you do in your room,_

_I could see it all._

_You undress,_

_I wish I was a fly on the wall,_

_yeah. (yeah)_

Luna leaned closer her radio. She slowly turned the volume up.

_For the drama that you're drinking,  
And the dark thoughts you are thinking,  
And the love notes that you scrawl,_

_Oh, I wish I was a fly on the wall._

_Silently, I arrive.  
You don't know I'm alive._

_From your head to your toes,  
I would be there,  
From your bed to your clothes,  
I'm in the air._

_When you think you're alone  
I'll be down in the hall,  
I could see it, if I was a fly on the wall.  
What you do in your room,  
I could see it all,  
You undress, I wish I was a fly on the wall, yeah! (yeah!)_

_Wish I was a fly on the wall,  
Yeah, yea-eah._

Luna gazed at her other CD's. They were always her best friends at USA, no matter how much money she had got.

_Ever closer, ever nearer,  
When you're looking in the mirror,  
I would know who you call,_

_If I was a fly on the wall._

_From your head to your toes,  
I would be there,  
From your bed to your clothes,  
I'm in the air._

Luna stopped one of her favorite songs and clicked on the button 'Next'. After few clicking the sweet and quiet tone of 'If I Were A Boy' filled Luna's bedroom.

'This day sucks,' she thought and pulled the nearest pillow up her face. She wanted to hide from the party. She wished she could turn the time and make this Friday as tomorrow, Saturday.

'I hate this day,' she thought and inhaled the sweet smell of her vanilla shampoo. "I really hate Fridays!"

'How I wish that I could be a fly on the wall, then no one would care about me, only spiders.'

Suddenly her mobile phone started to ring, remembering her that it was still turned in.

"Yeah?" She said, moving up her bed and putting her phone closer to her ear.

"Hi darling, can't you move your little butt down our precious staircase to help me with the dinner?"

"Okay, mom."

_Click._

Luna looked at her mobile phone's display. 00:00:38… wow, record in talking with her mother at her mobile phone.

Luna sighed, throw her mobile in the bed and tried to climb out from her bed.

She thew one glance at her mirror and saw that her eyes were still red from crying. She needed to fix it, and fast.

Taking a fast run to her bathroom, she put her hands at the sink, turned the knob to let the cold water run into her palm.

After washing her face, she took her red towel and drained her palms and face in it.

"Luna, where are you?" She heard her mother squeak from the kitchen, the first floor. Her voice sent sheepskin at Luna's hands.

Luna sighed and yelled, "I'm coming, just give me a sec'!"

Sometimes she really wanted to be a fly on the wall, her mother won't disturb her, she won't need friends, only a mate for her short life.

_And she would know everything about her so-called friends._

**oOo**

**~LCG  
**


	12. Chapter 11: The Funny Trio

**oOo**

**Chapter Eleven – The Broccoli, Belle and the Party Clown **

**oOo**

"Mikan, where are you? The party has already started." I heard how my mom's voice's tone changed from sweet to worried, from worried to mad and from mad to sweet.

Great, I have missed the party's start. I know I shouldn't have watched **'Raise Your Voice'** at Sumire's house and at five-thirty come home just to take a shower and dress in Sumire's pink dress.

"I'm coming mom, relax." I said, stopping beside the traffic light, letting few cars flow down the street.

"At what street are you?" I sighed, breathed in and started to count from one till three. That always helped when I needed to relax my nerves.

"I'm at… why are you asking, mom?" I asked, knowing that she would tell me that it's already seven thirty, I needed to be at the party, dancing with my "future husbands", not walking down the road where a lot of drunken man could took me in their cars, drive to the nearest park and rape me.

"Darling, you know that it's already seven thirty, you were suspect to be here at six o'clock."

"Mom, it's not twelve in the midnight, I'm sixteen years old, for crying out loud."

"Mikan, you're always going to be our little Miki." I could feel how sweet, warm feeling flied in my stomach. No, they weren't love butterflies, they were family love butterflies.

The traffic-light colors changed and few pair of cars stopped, to let people pass the street.

"Yes, mom, I know, and don't worry about me, I just need to visit Sumire before the party, don't worry, she will come too. I invited her personally."

"_Who's Sumire?"_

I sighed and started to tell her all biography about Sumire Shoda, when was her birthday, who's her parents, where she lives, which is her zodiac sign, which is her favorite food, drink, color and guy. Well, the last part skipped.

"Hmm, I would love to see her at the party."

"You will see her, definitely." I giggled imagining Sumire with her green dress, knee high green socks and green shoes. It would be hard to miss such a perfect clothes combination.

"Okay, we will be waiting. Bye." I smiled and put my phone back into my jeans pocket. After three minutes I stood in front of pale house where Sumire and her family were living.

I ringed the doorbell and heard some noise from inside. I heard someone walking closer to the door and asking "Who's there?"

"Am, it's me, Mikan, is Sumire there?"

"Yeah, she is." The door's opening reliving me a black haired guy with green eyes. He was grinning at me, showing his perfect teeth.

"And who are you?" I asked.

"My name is Shane, I'm Sumire's cousin." He smiled and turned around to yell at the bathroom. "Broccoli, your friend is here."

The doors swing open and Sumire come out, holding her green mini bag.

"Haha, very funny Einstein," she sighed, and looked at me, "ah, you're here, I started to lose my hope that you will ever come."

"Hey, I'm not a ditcher." I said, "And besides, we're late, so hurry up." I turned slowly away and began my walk toward the door that would bring me outside.

"I know that you aren't. Hey, wait up." She said and started to run closer in her three inch high heel shoes.

Another thing that showed how more womanly she was. While I was walking in my white shoes and she in her greens, it seemed that she was five inch taller.

"You are too tall with these shoes." I said, pointing my index finger at her shoes.

"And you're the small Mika-chan." She smirked at me and swung her green mini-bag to her shoulders.

"Whatever."

**oOo**

"Are we already closer to that party place? These shoes are going to kill me!" Sumire whined as she walked down another street with me.

"Perm, we have been out only for five minutes!" I raised my eyebrow as I was looked at her face. Her face showed gracefulness and pain. I could see the pain more.

"So what, these shoes are going to kill me! How will I dance with boys?"

"You want to dance with boys in tree inch high heel shoes? Are you nuts?" I asked, stopping beside another traffic light.

"I should listen to Shane. He already told me that these shoes are going to kill me!" She groaned and stopped to walk.

"What are you doing?" I asked through clutched teeth, if she's going to continue whining and groaning then I will explode.

"I'm not going to step any step further with these shoes."

This time I groaned, "Shoda, what's wrong with you?"

"I can't walk in these shoes, Sakura." She whined more loudly, catching other people attention.

"Sumire, we're at the street where every normal people are going, and now you make those people _stare_ at you."

"I don't care, Mikan Sakura."

"Well, but I care, here are a lot of handsome boys." I smiled as she looked up from the ground, with sparkling eyes.

_Bingo!_

"You're right, Mikan Sakura, I can't whine in front of these handsome boys, I can't!" She smiled at me and started to walk.

"Now that's the Sumire Shoda I know!" We both giggled and continued the way to the party.

After passing ten busy streets, we marched toward our goal – the gigantic mansion, or rather, the gigantic mansion's gates.

"So, Koizumi's own this place?" Sumire looked at the gates being fascinated how large they were.

"Yes, they own this mansion." I sighed,_ 'Why couldn't my mom or father own something glamour as this mansion?'_

"I feel pity for their maids, too large territory to clean." I giggled as Sumire said and stepper closer to yell, "Sesame, open up!"

"You're not going to get these gates open just with yelling. Hit them!" I laughed as Sumire slowly hit the gates. Not rough but gentle.

"Sesame, open up the gates," she hit them one more time, "open up."

"Sumire, you're destroying their gate's color." I took few steps closer to the gates.

"Maybe we need to push some special button to let them know that some visitors are outside not inside the mansion?"

"Sakura, do you see any button?"

"No, but there…" I couldn't continue because Sumire hissed, "You think that I wasn't having the same idea in my head, you think that just with 'Sesame, open up!' I will make these_ fucking _gates to open up?"

"No, but…"

"Shut up, Sakura, I don't have the stamina to argue with you." She yelled.

Suddenly some noise started to come from the gates and, slowly, they started to open up.

"What's happening?" Sumire asked, looking how the gates made a wider gasp.

"Have no clue." I answered, being amazed how the gates reacted to Sumire's _little _outburst. The gates stopped, making 'ching' sound. "Shall we go?"

"You first," she gave me a sly smirk.

"Okay," I said and stepped few steps closer to the place where the gates were previously staying.

"Go, Mikan, you can do it!" Sumire laughed and fallowed me.

"Maybe they have some watchdogs here?"

"Well, watchdogs would smell stranger's scent at their territory and your scent is hard to miss."

"Hey, I don't stink!"

"I didn't say that you stink, Mikan," she smiled at me, "I said that they wouldn't miss your and mine scent."

"But that means…"

"Mikan, yes, that means that we both stink." Sumire started to laugh and I joined her. We were laughing in nonstop for more then two minutes.

"Okay, stop." Sumire's smile died and was replaced by a large scowl.

"Wow, you're having really big mood swings!"

"Shut up, my shoes are killing me and you make it all more badly."

"Then take off your shoes."

I turned around to see Koko walking toward us with a sly grin on his lips.

"Oh, hello, what are you doing here?" I asked, looking at him. Unknown to me, Sumire was gurgling with anger.

"Natsume invited me because Ruka didn't wanted to go here, men, he's such a loser for not coming here."

"Oh," I said, lowering my gaze to see the pavement. Somehow I wasn't having any idea what to say next.

"Why are you here?" My thoughts get interrupted by Sumire's voice.

"To get drunk and forget about my pointless life." He looked at Sumire and smiled.

"Koko…," Sumire's voice cracked and I heard a sad tone in her voice, "your life isn't pointless."

"It is, just look at me, I'm all alone in a party. Somehow that doesn't fit together, right?" His smile died as he finished his question.

"Right, it doesn't fit with you." I said and smiled as a sly grin returned to Koko's lips.

"Ehm, can we stop crying over his pointless life? I want to go inside the mansion, not be an outcast and stand here." Sumire said and whined.

We both started to laugh, being amazed how Sumire's scowl could be cute and charming.

"We will, right Bella?" Koko smiled at me, making me blush.

"Ye_-ah_, Koko, we will."

"Okay, so move your little bottoms here." Sumire looked at us and walked further.

"Yes, miss Broccoli." Koko grinned as Sumire gave him deathly glare.

"In your place I wouldn't argue with her, Koko." I whispered to him.

"Don't worry, she won't kill me," he smiled and took few longer steps to catch Sumire, "right, babe?"

"Don't forget that I'm still angry about that fight."

"Relax babe," he smiled and wrapped his left hand around her shoulders, "I was just saving my best friend's little sister from fourteen year old jock."

"You were fighting with fourteen year old guy?" Sumire's surprised squeak made me shiver. "Loser, he made your nose bleed."

"Hey, I'm not loser, he was just too… lucky."

"Ehm, was he strong?"

"Sumire, how the hell should I know?"

"You felt his punch, didn't you? So, was he strong?"

"Probably," Koko stopped to walk and looked at Sumire with raised left eyebrow, "why do you want to know?"

"Because then I would tell my mother how my boyfriend got bleeding nose by two years younger teenager, who was stronger than my boyfriend." Sumire, with her elbow, punched Koko in his stomach.

"Hey, that hurts." Koko whined, faking how his stomach was hurting by Sumire's punch.

"Well, that's your problem, darling."

He mumbled something that I couldn't hear. All I could hear was Sumire's words: "Loser", "you wish", "Na-ah".

I smiled at their bickering, no matter how much they were arguing they still liked each other. 'Will I ever found such a nice guy as Koko?' I thought and sighed.

'No, of course not, which guy would like to spend his time with all teachers lovely student?'

The answer was simple.

_No one_

I felt how my eyes started to burn and a tear rolled down my cheek, destroying my make-up.

'Comical,' I sighed, 'I'm here, in Sumire's pink dress, without any partner.'

"Mikan, why are you standing there?" I heard Sumire's voice and laughs as Koko said something.

"Hey, you pervert, you can't eat me just because I look like a broccoli." Sumire punched his stomach with her elbow again.

"Hehe," I said and started to run closer to them.

"Ah, finally she understood us, Koko."

"Yes." He smiled and wrapped his hand around her shoulders.

"This time you won't get a kiss, so don't try."

"Aw, you hurt me." Koko smiled and whispered something to Sumire, which made her blush.

I smiled and looked at the mansion that was coming with every step even nearer and nearer. We even could hear the music. The basses from some hip-hop music were echoing through the vole garden.

"They are having _hop-hopies _there?" Sumire asked to Koko.

"Yeah, at last not old country hits." Koko looked at me and asked, "What kinds of music do you like, Mikan?"

"She likes pop music. Her favorite artists are Avril Lavigne, Katy Perry, Kelly Minogue and other poppy singers?" Sumire answered in my place and smiled at Koko. As an answer Koko leaned closer to Sumire, not breaking their eye contact.

I turned my head away from the couple to keep their privacy. Right now we were in the middle of the Koizumi's mansions garden, walking on their black pavement driveway.

"Guys, shouldn't we walk a bit faster?"

"What did you say?" Only now Koko leaned away from Sumire, breaking their eye contact.

"We need to walk faster, it's almost seven, and my mom will scold me if I will come there at seven or even seven thirty."

"Mikan, chill, you're a big girl now." Koko only grinned at me.

"Tell it to my mother," I sighed, "and besides, she will never listen to you."

"Aw, aren't we such a party poppers?"

"No, we aren't." I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Can we, please, walk a bit faster? I know that it's hard for teenagers, who are in love, control their hormones."

"Aw, aren't we jealous?" Sumire smiled at me _the bitchy-smile_.

"No, I'm not jealous."

"Yes, you are."

"Can we just walk faster?"

"No, we can't."

"Ugh, forget it." I said and started to walk faster, getting away from the lovely couple. I was so mad at them. They were-_ ugh_- I can't even describe how annoying they were. As I was walking, I heard one of the sweetest songs **- 'Love Story'**. But it wasn't coming from the mansion. It was coming from another house that was still in Koizumi's property, the servant's house.

Yep, they were having a house for servant, which was really sweet from them.

"Mikan, is it you?"

A girl's voice cut out me from my thoughts. She was standing ten meters away from me.

She had long blond hair and blue eyes. She wore black cottons dress with black jacket on the top of the dress. Her black boots matched her outfit.

A smile was lingering on her pink lips.

"Who are you?" I asked, raising my right eyebrow.

She giggled and smiled, "My name is Luna, don't tell me that you forgot me."

**oOo**

**~LCG**


	13. Chapter 12 : The Problems At The Party

**oOo**

**Chapter Twelve – The Problems At The Party  
**

**oOo**

Shall I say that I was surprised seeing her?

After all, I thought that I will never see her again. Her blond curled hair bounced after every step she took. After every minute I started to remember why I didn't like her at the childhood.

The way she talked, she sounded sweet as caramel, but once you went against her wishes - she was the bitchiest creature you have ever seen.

"Mikan, why haven't you told me that you have such an amazing friend?" Sumire asked, stopping her long chat with Luna as we walked toward the gigantic mansion.

"I didn't have time?" I asked, trying to sound funny. Sumire only shook her head and walked closer to Luna to remain their chitty chat.

Luna Koizumi in her bimbo black dress, black boots and her black jacket looked really lovely. Her looks screamed **Danger! High make-up and Flirt-ous voltage!**

"No offence, but I don't like her." Koko said, waking me up from my trance.

I only smiled at Koko.

**oOo**

As we stepped inside the house, few servants came to us, undressed us from our jackets and ran away.

"No worries," Luna smiled, "they just took them to our gigantic wardrobe."

"Oh my gosh, do you have even your own gigantic wardrobe?" Sumire squealed when Luna nodded.

"This is pathetic," said Koko, "I'm going to search for Natsume. Want to join?"

"Yeah," I said and fallowed Koko in to the living room.

The room was decorated with some hearts flying above our heads, hanging on tiny ropes, which were added to the lamps, and big sign above the stage. _Welcome home, Koizumi family._

I snickered with Koko and we went further inside the room.

The room was full with guests. Half of them were dancing, when the other half ate their snacks.

"Man, this party is soo lame." Koko said, maneuvering his way on the dance floor. I fallowed him, keeping being silent. "Where the heck is Natsume?"

"I have no clue." I said after saying quiet 'sorry' to an old lady.

Koko stopped, turned around, his honey blond hair almost got inside my eyes, and took his cell phone outside his tuxedo pocket.

"Are you going to call to Natsume?" He only nodded and after some seconds he turned around and started to talk with Natsume. By their talk, I got that Natsume was in the second floor at the Koizumi's mansion.

"Why is he there?" I asked Koko. He only smirked and said 'boy things' and left me alone, walking away from me.

"Stupid idiot," I said before an old lady glanced at me. "It's not for you."

"Do you want to dance?" I turned around and lost my eyes in blue eyes. Ruka Nogi smiled at me with his brilliant smile. "Long times haven't talked."

At first I was dumbfounded to see him here. Didn't Koko say that he could not come?

But I only smiled and nodded, taking his hand in mine.

**oOo**

After three hours of dancing, mother's finding and eating, I found Sumire Shouda sleeping on the Koizumi's couch of the living room.

"Permy," I said, trying to wake her up. She mumbled something in her sleep and opened her green eyes to look at me.

"Miki, you have _reallie prittie_ face." She smiled at me, being dazzled.

"Gosh, are you drunk?"

"I only drank few glasses of champagne and something like vodka. I don't know. You're not mad, right?"

"No, I'm not," I said, looking at her crumpled dress. "What's wrong with your dress?"

"I danced with Luna and then two hot looking guys asked us to dance. At first we said no but Luna wanted to have some fun. This way we danced and danced. Koko saw it and he got very mad, oh, Koko, I hope he's not angry at me."

"Yeah, I got it. And how you ended up being drunk?"

"We played litrebole. It's such a fun game." Sumire giggled and looked at me. "I think I will puke."

"Let's go to toilet and fast."

When I got Sumire to her feet and when we walked to toilet, I tried to understand from Sumire's mumbling that Koko went to the second floor. Luna went with him and let Sumire all alone.

"They are meanies," Sumire sighed as we walked inside the toilet. "Hello toilet bowl."

And she threw up. I opened my bag and searched for my mp3. I didn't like the sound of throwing up. It made my stomach ache.

"Oh my God," the doors were pushed opened and inside ran Luna. "Mikan, where's Sumire?"

"Inside one of the toilet cabin," I said as I took out my earphones from my bag. "She got sick."

"Sumire, dear, get better. Can I barrow Mikan for a moment?" Luna raised her voice and waited for replay.

"Sure," Sumire said before she started to cough.

"Why you need me?" I asked, holding my mp3 in one hand and the earphone's cord in another.

"You have to see this."

**oOo**

The room at the second floor was full of smoke. The air smelt like strawberries.

"It's the water pipe, only they had added some tasty flavors." Luna said, leading me further in the room.

"Where are we going, Luna? This room is bad for my lungs."

"Hold on, honey, you haven't seen all."

Honey? I'm not a honey for you, whore.

We walked inside the room. As my eyes got used to the smoke, I could see some furniture. A lamp, TV, few couches and PS 3 were in the first room. No one was playing the PS 3, this way it was put on pause.

As Luna opened the second door to the second room, I felt how everything in me froze. There, on the couch, were lying few guys and some girls.

"_Heeey_, it's our favorite Mikan." One of the boys stood up from the couch and moved closer to us. First, I inhaled the scent of alcohol and only then I noticed the face of Kokoro Yome.

"Koko, what are you doing here? Why are you drunk? Sumire was looking for you and-" Koko cut my speech with raised hand.

"Look, _Mikaaan_. Don't put your nose in things that aren't decided for you."

I wanted to argue with Koko. How could he tell me something like that? Every few seconds I tried to remind myself that he was drunk.

"Dude, stop torturing the pretty face."

The voice came from the couch. It was so familiar that made my stomach ache. I haven't heard it since the new girl came to our class. As I looked at the couch, my eyes landed on messy black hair curls. Some buttons on his shirt were undone and his crimson red eyes were staring at me. They looked kind of dully.

"Natsume," Luna said as a smile appeared on her lips. "It's so nice to see you here." She squealed and ran closer to the couch to lean closer to Natsume. She kissed him on the cheek and drew herself back to giggle.

Sure, the whore was back at the town.

"Mikan, come here. Don't you want to hug Natsume?"

**oOo**

~**LCG**


	14. Chapter 13 : Miraculous News

**oOo**

**Chapter Thirteen – Miraculous News**

**oOo**

"Mikan, come here! Don't you want to hug Natsume?" Her words rang in my ears. To hug Natsume, it was out of the question. I would never come close to him. Time has changed us. The bond that we used to share has gone long ago. There was no need for me to go there and make a fool out of myself.

"Maybe later?" I asked Natsume, not waiting for an answer. He only smirked, which gave my blood in my veins a fast run. I looked away and noticed Koko, sitting on the floor, laughing like an idiot.

He was stoned. He noticed that I was staring at him, that's why he winked at me.

People in this room were miserable.

"Are you thirsty?" Luna asked as she picked up almost empty beer can.

"No. I will go back to Sumire." I told Luna and turned around to walk away. A hand on my shoulder stopped me. It made me turn around and gaze at Koko.

"Tell Sumire that I'm angry at her." He mumbled and let me go. I nodded, turned around and walked outside the room. As I walked in the hallway, fresh air greeted me and I took a deep breathe. I closed my eyes and let out a deep exhale.

"You're just like fish. Here, _fishy, fishy._" Sumire's voice made me open my eyes and see that she was sitting on the first step of the stairs, staring at me with her lawn green eyes.

"I was looking for you. Are you feeling better?"

"No," Sumire answered and looked down the stairs. The party was still on high note on the first floor. "I want to go home."

"Koko won't come with us. He is stoned as an idiot." I told her, walking closer to her to sit beside her on the step.

"We shouldn't be here. This isn't a place for people like us. Look around this place, everything here smells of money. So gross." Sumire told me, leaning against the stair's bars.

There was a silence for few minutes. I looked around the hall, looking at the grand and mighty furniture. There was a magnificent golden chandelier above us.

"I need to admit it, it's annoying." I agreed and smiles at Sumire when she giggled with me.

That's how I loved it to be. Simple. We were simple, we matched. It was a surprise that I had never noticed it before.

"Let's go home." I told her and she nodded.

We stood up and walked down the stairs. I found my mother at the bar with Luna's parents. I told her that I will call a cab for Sumire and myself. She gave me money and told me to call her when I'm home.

The house servants brought us back our jackets and even called for a cab to come. As we stood outside beside the huge, closed gates of Koizumi's mansion, Sumire told me what was on her mind.

"Everything is happening so fast, Mikan. It seems like only yesterday was the start of first grade and now look at us, here we are, being sixteen!"

I was silent. I listened to every word she said and nodded. I didn't have the mood to talk.

When we waited for the cab, a black car stopped in front of the gates and beeped at the guards. The guards opened the gates and the car drove in.

"I wonder who it could be." I heard Sumire's voice, it sounded so far away from me as I thought about the whole day.

"I have no idea." I answered, being honest for once.

**oOo**

I came home and walked straight in my bedroom. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. When I woke up the next day, my mom was making breakfasts and humming a song.

"Good morning, mother." I greeted her as I stepped in the kitchen.

"Dear Mikan, you won't believe what happened after you left with Sumire!" My mom raised her voice, smiling like the sun.

"What happened?" I asked, raising my left eyebrow.

"You remember Hota-chan? She is back in the city!" My mom clapped her hands and let out a giggle.

I opened my mouth to say something but nothing came out. I closed it and felt like a fish. When the thought of Hota-chan, being back in the city hit me, I jumped up and yelled in joy.

"She will visit us tomorrow with her family." My mom smiled and continued to make breakfasts. I walked closer to the dining table and sat in a chair that was near it.

Finally, after so long, I will have a chance to see her.

**oOo**

**~LCG**


	15. Chapter 14 : Unforeseen Truth

**oOo**

**Chapter Fourteen – Unforeseen Truth**

**oOo**

I was dressed in the most beautiful dress I could find in my wardrobe. My shoe's heel was ten centimeters high and I felt like an elephant, walking around my house.

Yuka Sakura wanted me to leave an impression to Imai's family.

I had grown up from the kid with the chocolate dirty face. I had grown up from being a cry baby to a girl who's fancy and beautiful. When my mother told me to wear these clothes, I thought that it was a joke. It turned out that she was serious.

"You're looking very pretty, Mikan." Yuka said, checking out how the dress fit my shoes and how I looked in it.

"You really think I should wear this dress?" I asked her, twirling around in circle. I had to admit, the dress was very pretty, even beautiful, if possible.

This entire masquerade was made for one family.

"Yes, you should, Mikan." My mother smiled at me and I smiled back.

**oOo**

The Saturday was warm. I was sitting outside my house in our garden, reading a book and waiting for the Imai's family to arrive. After every page I read, I looked up to check if a car had driven in our courtyard. Everything was silent and I kept reading the book.

It didn't take long for a car to drive in our courtyard. When it happened, I jumped up, threw my book on the bench and ran inside the house through backdoors.

"Mother, they are here." I called out my mother as I ran up the stairs. My heart was beating rapidly. The air from my lungs was taken away. When I reached my bedroom, I ran inside it and fell on my bed. I hid my face in the pillow and took few fast gasps. I was nervous.

The door bell rang and I ran outside my room, down the stairs and in front of the outside door.

I took the cold know in my hands, a smile spread through my face as I pulled the knob down and opened the door.

It died when I saw the violet eyes, porcelain skin and black hair. I stared at the girl in front of me.

"Hello, Mikan." She said, brushing her hair away from her face. She looked young while doing it. It looked so similar to _her_. How could I be so blind all the time?

"Hello, Imai family. Come in!" My mother sang as she pushed me away from the door entrance and took _her_ hand.

The rest of the family came in but it all happened in a blur. I didn't follow them. I ran upstairs and washed my face with cold water. When I looked at myself in the mirror, tears came out from my eyes.

All this time Hota-chan was in front of me. All this time I thought she was a different person. All the time Hota-chan was Hotaru Imai.

**oOo**

"It's such a pleasure to have you back, Imai family! I remember how you drove away from Tokyo. Mikan was always waiting for Hotaru to come back near the playing ground almost for a month."

I wanted to hide in shame from my mother's words. I could feel Hotaru's gaze on me. I tried to look at the table all the time, like I found it more interesting then the whole world. This situation was awkward. I wanted to run away from my house and come back when Imai's would be gone.

"How are you doing in school, Mikan?" Hotatu's mother asked me, smiling a lovely smile which made me reminiscent the past.

"It's good." I told her, looking in her blue eyes. The other family members had violet eyes, it was weird since I noticed it only now. I guess I had forgotten _something_ about Imai's family.

"Hotaru is in your class, isn't she? She hadn't been in school for one week. She got in accident. I believe that she has told you this, hasn't she?"

"No, ma'am, she hasn't." I answered and looked at Hotaru. She looked at me with her empty eyes and shrugged it off as if it wasn't a big deal. Then again, who was I to her to make her tell everything about herself?

"Oh, I see. Hotaru got in a car accident. It rode her down. Thank gosh it wasn't anything very serious." Her mother smiled and took a sip from her red wine.

I looked down on my food plate and took a bite from my chicken's leg. I didn't want to make eye contact with anybody. Not even with Hotaru, since we had so much to talk about. Like, why she never told me the truth that she was Hota-chan.

"At first we didn't want to make such a big ruckus over our comeback. That's why we only told the news to the Hyuuga family. My deepest apologizes to both of you for not informing you earlier, Yuka and Mikan." Hotaru's mother was talking in non-stop and every new sentence she said made my head spin faster and faster.

"I need to breathe a fresh air." I told them as I bolted up from my seat and ran outside the guest room. In the way, I took off my high heel shoes and changed them to sneakers. I opened the front door and ran outside my house and the garden.

The cold air tickled my bare legs as I ran. I forgot that it was already late evening. The sun had gone down and it was almost nine past midnight.

I ran till the park where I used to play with Hotaru and Natsume. I sat in the swings and started to cry. Everything was so messy in my head. And somehow, I felt like a fool. I couldn't believe that I didn't see the truth all this month.

After a while, which seemed like a year, I stopped crying and looked in the sky. The stars were shining over me, watching me. I smiled and started to search for the special star that shone the brighter than other stars.

Maybe the star I was watching was destroyed by a meteor thousand years ago.

I smiled and got up from the swings. I put my hands around my shoulders, hugging myself as the cold crept on me.

"Mikan," I turned around as somebody called me. There, behind me, stood a boy who I was trying to avoid from my mind the most. He was covered in the shadows but I could tell who he was. I always could when it came to him.

"Natsume," I said his name, tasting how it felt to say it loud. It was weird but I liked it.

"What are you doing here?" He asked me, coming closer so I could see his face in the lamplights.

"Stuff, I guess." I told him and was about to spin around to walk away when he grabbed me by my elbow.

"We need to talk." He told me, not letting me go when I tried to push his hand away from my elbow.

"About what? I doubt that we have so much in common these days." I spat out. I knew I sounded rude. I hadn't the mood to talk with him and I was cold. I wanted to go away from him. I wanted to be alone.

"Don't be silly." He said and pushed me against him. He wrapped his hands around my waist and hid his face in my hair.

Somehow, I didn't push him away. I closed my eyes and stood there while he hugged me. I wrapped my arms around him and hid my face in his shirt. It smelt like recently washed. Somehow, I found peace in his embrace.

"I'm sorry, Mikan." He whispered in my hair and the spell for one moment was broken. I pushed myself away from him.

"I know everything, Natsume." I told him and felt how tears came to my eyes. "It was just for the Imai family. I can't believe how stupid I could be to not see the truth in front of me. I can't believe it. I just can't." I told him as I backed away from him.

"Where are you going, Mikan?" He asked me, sounding pitiful. I wanted to run away from him. I knew that it was stupid since he was trying to comfort me.

"I need time to think about everything." I told him. He nodded and lifted his hand to mess his hair.

"If you want anybody to talk to, just call." He said, dragging out every syllable he said.

"Sure. I have just one question. Did Hotaru called you to search for me?"

"No, she texted. I thought this would be the first place you went to." He smirked and I smiled back. Maybe with time we could become the best friends that we used to be.

"Goodnight, Natsume." I told him and turned around to run away.

"Goodnight, Mikan." I heard him as I jogged away from the park which held so many dear memories.

**oOo**

**~LCG**


	16. Chapter 15 : Growing Up

**oOo**

**Chapter Fifteen – Growing Up**

**oOo**

The way back home was peaceful. When I stepped inside my house, Imai's were getting ready to leave.

"Mikan," my mother called me. I knew the tune she used. She wanted to scold me for running away. I hated when she acted with me like I wasn't mature enough to walk outside my house after ten past midnight.

"Leave me alone!" I shouted and ran up the stairs. I didn't say goodbye to the Imai family. I acted childish and rude. I knew it but somehow, I felt like it was the easiest way how to avoid them all.

**oOo**

At Monday I was leaning against my locker and telling everything to Sumire. She stared at me with her mouth wide open.

"You must be kidding, kid." She said as I leaned away from the locker and let out a deep exhale.

"I wish I was, Permy." I told her and took my bag from the ground.

There were three minutes left till last lesson's starting bell. I slowly walked to the classroom. Sumire followed me, asking me a lot of questions to whom I didn't know the answers.

"Really, Sumire, I don't know. I'm not even sure who to believe anymore. It seems like everyone expect you have lied to me in these weeks." I said as I walked into the classroom.

Sumire followed me, sat beside me and started to blab about her weekend. Koko had come to visit her and he asked her for forgiveness. She had told him to leave her alone. He left to return after one hour with a flower bouquet.

Her mother had started to giggle while Sumire has been staring at Koko with wide eyes. After that Sumire's mother invited Koko in for dinner. It was comical from her father's point of view. Koko had been red and nervous all the meal time. Sumire was very talkative and Sumire's mother was flying from the dinning room to the kitchen every five minutes.

At the day's end, Koko left her with a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm happy that everything is alright between you both." I told her as the teacher walked in the classroom.

**oOo**

The lunch room was full of students from every grade. Almost every table was full, so, it left no space for me and Sumire.

"Shall we go outside, Mikan?" She whispered in my ear, since I couldn't hear what she said when she spoke. The room was buzzing with noises.

"We could." I told her and was about to turn around and leave the lunch room when a hand stopped me.

"Where are you going, Mikan?" Aoi asked me, staring up at me from her seat. "We have two free places at our table."

"Awesome!" Sumire giggled and sat beside Aoi at the free spot, leaving me to sit across the table from them.

"Long times haven't talked, have we?" I tried to make a conversation with Aoi as I sat down awkwardly.

"Few months. Does it change something?" Aoi looked at me and smiled. She looked very cute. Her raven black hair was tied in a pony tail and her eyes were smoky. I couldn't remember when she changed from being a tomboy to this wannabe.

"Yes, it does." Sumire answered in my place. When I looked at her, she winked at me.

_Thanks_, I mouthed and smiled when she smiled back at me.

"I heard that you found out the glorious news about the Imai family. I assume that Sumire already knows what I'm trying to tell you, right? Well, it doesn't matter. I'm happy that we don't need to ignore you anymore. It was tough for me and Natsume, believe me." Aoi finished and took a bite from her apple.

I only nodded and looked down at my food plate. There stood one water bottle and two biscuits. The food was untouched. Somehow, I had lost my appetite.

"Mikan, I just want you to know one thing." Aoi spoke up, looking at me with her crimson eyes. "Don't put your hatred on Hotaru, please."

"Why should I, Aoi? She's my childhood friend. I cherish her, even if our bond is gone."

"That's so nice of you, Mikan." Aoi smiled at me and took another bite from her apple. Noticing that I'm not eating, she asked "Aren't you hungry?"

"Not at all. At first taking the biscuits seemed like a good idea but now I'm regretting it." I told her, holding one biscuit up from my plate.

"Can I eat it in your place?" Sumire asked me, smiling widely as I gave her the cupcake.

"Go ahead, Sumire." I told her as she bit in the cupcake. I heard Aoi's giggles and closed my eyes for a moment, leaning against the chair. I was tired from yesterday. A lot.

"By the way, Natsume asked me to tell you that he will be waiting you today in front of our school's parking lot after classes."

"Okay." I answered and thought what Natsume needed from me.

**oOo**

The sun kissed my face when I stepped outside the school's building. Instead of going out the territory of Alice Academy, I had to wait for Natsume to show up in front of the parking lot.

After five minutes he was in front of me.

"What do you need from me, Natsume?" I asked him, raising my left brow up. He smirked and leaned down to be in eye level with him. Damn him and his highness!

His crimson red eyes burnt me as he stared at me for few seconds. Then, he spoke.

"I just wanted to see you."

I was flabbergasted for ten seconds. Then I opened my mouth and cursed him. He laughed and leaned away from me.

"No, seriously, what do you need from me?"

"I want you to meet somebody." He smirked down at me and one person appeared in my mind, the one who was missing from school. Hotaru Imai.

"Oh, cool. I have no idea who it could be. None at all." I said sarcastically as I cast my gaze at the drive way. A car rolled in the gates of the academy. It stopped in front of us. The driver opened the doors and stepped out. It was Hotaru Imai. She took her purse from the car, shut the door and locked it. She was wearing sunglasses and I couldn't tell if she was angry or aggressive at the moment she walked toward us.

She was wearing white summer dress with flowers knitted at the end of her dress. She wore white flip flops. When she came, I saw that she was limping. She approached us, gave a kiss on Natsume's cheek, grabbed his arm to lean against him and turned to face me.

"Hello, Mikan," she smiled at me and I smiled back at her, even if inside me everything was spinning around. They were dating. Why Aoi didn't tell me it?

"How are you feeling?" she asked after a pause of silence. She took off her sunglasses and I saw her porcelain white skin, bags under her eyes and a sad smile. Her violet eyes haven't changed. They were cold as from the first day she came to school.

"I'm good, thanks. I'm wondering, what do you both need from me?" I asked them, trying to ignore the hurtful pull my heart made when I looked at them both.

"Can't we just talk to you?" Hotaru asked, staring at me with her cold eyes. They cut into me and got under my skin.

"Sorry, I have no time at the moment." I shuddered and turned away to leave.

My arm was grabbed by somebody. I turned around to face Natsume.

"What do you need?" I asked him, trying to shake his hold off my arm.

"Why can't you act like a grown up for one, Mikan?" His tone was harsh and scolding. I felt like a child in front of him for few minutes.

"I'm only sixteen." I spat in his face and pushed him away, making him lose his grip on me. I looked at Hotaru for a brief moment and muttered the first words that came in my mind.

"I'm happy that you're back in town. Now, please, leave me alone."

And I ran away, like a lost puppy.

They were too harsh, putting all the news on me in one moment. I didn't want to know anything.

As I made my way outside the Alice Academy's gates, Sumire stopped me. How she got there, I had no idea.

I ran into her and hugged her close to myself. I cried out in her neck as she patted my head.

"I will take you home, little one." She whispered in my ear and I nodded and we began our slow walk to home. I told her everything that happened with me. The only thing she told me was that she felt sorry for me.

When I came home, I fell into my bed and hugged a teddy bear that was a gift from my mother on my tenth birthday. I replied the meeting I had with Hotaru and Natsume. I sighed and hid my face in the teddy bear's fur.

Being a grown up was such a hard task for me.

**oOo**

**A/N – **I don't know why I don't like the conversation she has between Natsume and Hotaru. A bit irritating but that's how I want to show off Mikan. After all, she's only sixteen. Still a child.

**~LCG**


	17. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

Ending a story with a bang was always in my mind. For this story – **Who's that girl, Natsume?** – I wanted a happy end with a lot of smiles and beautiful promises.

I am doing a horrible job right now but that's how I feel about this story. I don't want to finish it because I don't want to ruin in with sappy ending and Mikan, being all alone in her little world and living the same routine until she decides to leave the country and go Hannah Montana on everyone. Okay, exaggeration.

All I want to say is that I'm leaving this story in the past. I had the idea of it. Had is in the past. Present isn't the right place for past.

Thank you for reading it. Thank you for reviewing it.

**~LCG**


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